Cong, BJP spar over Chhath Puja holiday

The Congress-led Delhi government and opposition BJP are at loggerheads over declaring Chhath puja as a public holiday. While the Delhi government has declared it as a restricted holiday, Delhi BJP has demanded that Chhath puja should be declared a public holiday.

The Congress-led Delhi government and opposition BJP are at loggerheads over declaring Chhath puja as a public holiday.
While the Delhi government has declared it as a restricted holiday, Delhi BJP has demanded that Chhath puja should be declared a public holiday.

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State BJP president Vijendra Gupta has also asked for facilities on Chhath Ghats for
devotees.

The party has decided to organise camps with Karsewaks at 160 odd ghats so that people do not face any difficulty while praying.

"There are more than 40 lakh Poorvanchalis residing in Delhi and keeping their sentiments in mind, the Delhi government should declare November 19 as a public figure. In the three corporations, we have already declared a holiday and we
want the Delhi chief minister to announce this soon," said Gupta.

Gupta said additional water should be released at Wazirabad ghats on this occasion. "Special cleaning at Yamuna banks should be done immediately and arrangements for free parking should be made at ghats," added Gupta.

He said 10,000 volunteers will be deployed by BJP for helping people at 160 odd ghats. "All the three corporations have taken steps to clean the ghats and additional number of labourers have been deputed for this work," added Gupta.
Meanwhile, Delhi revenue and urban development minister Arvinder Singh will inspect various ghats with a divisional commissioner to check the preparation and arrangements.