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Yogi performs Chhath rituals, says Uttar Pradesh has moved from ‘upadrav to utsav’
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath addresses a gathering at the Chhath Puja venue on the Gomti riverbank in Lucknow
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Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday asserted that the state had moved from an atmosphere of “upadrav to utsav” (disorder to celebrations) under the BJP government.
Adityanath, who offered Sandhya Arghya to the setting sun at the Chhath ghat at Laxman Mela ground, was addressing a gathering at the venue on the Gomti riverbank. Without naming the Samajwadi Party or any other Opposition outfit, he asked the crowd a series of pointed questions.
“Was such a grand celebration of Chhath Puja possible before 2017?” he asked and the crowd replied: “No.”
“Earlier, during Chhath Puja, there was no cleaning at the ghats, no arrangement for lights, no transportation facility,” he said.
“Today, look at the ghats. Cleanliness, lights, security, transport — everything is arranged. This is the change,” he added.
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, MLCs Pawan Singh Chauhan and Mukesh Sharma, BJP metropolitan president Anand Dwivedi, chief minister’s adviser Awanish Awasthi, Akhil Bharatiya Bhojpuri Samaj president Prabhunath Rai and folk singer Malini Awasthi also attended the programme at Laxman Mela ground. Mayor Sushma Kharkwal joined the chief minister during the prayers.
Yogi also mentioned Ayodhya’s Deeopotsav, the 10th edition of which was held on November 7 this year.
“Some people see discrimination in Chhath Mahaparv and hypocrisy in Durga Puja and the Kanwar Yatra. Their own lives are full of hypocrisy. They say one thing but consider it their birthright to criticise and insult India’s Sanatan traditions,” he further said.
Citing huge participation of devotees in Chhath celebrations in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and other places, he said the government had arranged additional bus and train services to facilitate the movement of people returning to their villages and homes for the festival.
Adityanath said special patrolling and security arrangements would remain in place during the night and early morning hours when devotees perform rituals and offer prayers to the rising Sun.
Control rooms at 110 ghats
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) established control rooms at all 110 ghats. Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar directed officials to ensure that essential civic services remained available throughout the celebrations.
The civic body installed barricades and warning signs near deep-water stretches to prevent accidents. It also arranged high-mast lights, drinking water, water tankers, mobile toilets and public address systems.
Additional municipal commissioner Pankaj Srivastava inspected several ghats to review the arrangements. Major locations included Laxman Mela, Lallumal, Jhoolelal, Sanjhiya, Vaidehi Mithila, Kudia, Mehandi, Kukrail and Sainik Nagar Boat Club ghats.
Traditional offerings
Devotees prepared traditional offerings, including thekua and khajur, at home on Sunday morning. From 4 pm, vratis reached the ghats, took a holy dip and stood in the river to offer arghya to the setting sun. Sunayana Singh Jha of Mithila Manch said the administration had made good arrangements at the ghats. Devotees will offer arghya to the rising sun on Monday morning, concluding the festival.
