Covid-19 lockdown, social distancing spoil Chhhath festival in Bihar

The lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus has put all the ghats of the Ganga in Patna put of bounds for the public.

The lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus has thrown a spanner in the Chhath celebrations in Bihar which began on Saturday.

Fruit sellers in Patna are staring at huge losses after the buyers stayed away because of the lockdown. (Santosh Kumar/HT PHOTO)

On the very first day of the four-day long festival, devotees who had to observe the Nahai Khai rituals, tried to visit the ghats on the banks of the Ganga in Patna to bathe and also to take back the water as the food for devotees is prepared with it on this occasion. But at most of the ghats they were not allowed.

The local administration had already banned entry to the ghats and had been asking devotees to observe Chhath rituals at their houses.

Many devotees are now worried about how to observe the rituals of offering Arghya to the setting and rising sun which are scheduled on Monday and Tuesday. To observe this ritual devotees have to be in waist deep in the water.

Many devotees have been creating makeshift ponds either at the roooftop or at the gardens of their houses to observe this ritual. But this time many of them have not been able to create this facility due to lack of hands caused by social distancing.

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Many are also having a tough time in preparing prasad (religious offering) which is prepared in huge quantities. No relative or even a family member has been able to turn up to participate in the preparations due to the lockdown.

Chhath is a major festival in Bihar where devotees worship the Sun. The festival is observed twice in a year.

“But the entire celebration has been spoilt by the lockdown and social distancing. Yesterday we tried to go to the Gandhi ghat in the city, but couldn’t. Finally my son requested the cops to allow him to go there and managed to get a can of Ganga water for the rituals,” Umashankar Mishra, a government official at Kadam Kuan in state capital, said.

Even the artificial pond could not be created. “The man who used to create it for us every year, has already left for his village due to Covid-19. We may have to observe the rituals in the bathtub this time,” he said.

Vikas Upadhyay, secretary of Shri Rajgir Teerth Mahasangh, said Chhath is a community festival. “Without the support of family and relatives and friends it cannot be celebrated. And this is why in many families this is the occasion when daughters or sons working in other cities, get back to their homes. This year everything has been spoilt by the virus and lockdown,” he said.

The mood among fruit traders at wholesale fruit market is more depressed.

“Though the festival has already started, the fruit market is without any buyer,” Barun Kumar, vice president of fruit traders association, Bihar, said.

In the Chhath festival wide varieties of fruits and even vegetables which grow under the ground, are offered to the Sun God.

“Considering the expected demand on Chhath traders had ordered for truckloads of fruits in bulk. But the buyers did not turn up. Now the fruits which have already been delivered to the traders, are lying rotting at the Bazar Samiti,” he said.

Over 20 trucks of oranges had arrived from Nagpur while many trucks also arrived from Nasik with grapes. “By the time lockdown was announced three trucks loaded with bananas had arrived from Hyderabad. Imagine the loss of the traders. It is not less than Rs 50 crores,” he said.