The Delhi government is working on a war footing to organise Chhath Puja at over 1,300 ghats across the city, with special arrangements along the Yamuna river, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra said on Thursday. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Minister Mishra inspected the Vasudev Ghat and reviewed the ongoing preparations, according to an official statement. Officials have been directed to ensure that arrangements for cleanliness, lighting, security and traffic management are completed well in advance so that devotees do not face any inconvenience. Mishra said this year's Chhath Puja celebrations will be the most extensive ever organised in the national capital. "Our goal is to provide devotees with a clean, safe and culturally enriching experience," he added, noting that preparations are being carried out on an unprecedented scale.
First Chhath Puja under CM Rekha Gupta's leadership
The minister highlighted that this will be the first Chhath Puja organised under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's leadership. "This is not a government that only talks, it delivers. The promise of enabling worship along the Yamuna banks is being fulfilled. It is a matter of pride for Delhi that devotees will now be able to perform traditional rituals there," Mishra said. He also noted that the previous government had not allowed Chhath Puja along the Yamuna for several years. "The people of Purvanchal will now celebrate their festival with pride and self-respect," he added.
Festival dates and public gatherings
The Delhi government has assured that all arrangements at ghats will be completed before the festival begins. Chhath Puja, a four-day festival dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya, will be celebrated from October 25 to October 28 this year, and is expected to witness large gatherings of devotees across the city.
AAP alleges BJP 'faked' clean Yamuna for Chhath
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday accused the BJP governments in Delhi and Haryana of diverting water from Uttar Pradesh's Eastern Canal to the Yamuna river to "create an illusion" of cleanliness before the festival, a charge rejected by the ruling party. The political temperatures in Delhi have been rising as Chhath Puja nears, with AAP and the ruling BJP trading charges over the Yamuna's condition and preparations for the event.
AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed the move of diverting water from Uttar Pradesh's Eastern Canal to the Yamuna river was a politically driven attempt to woo Purvanchali voters ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. "The BJP's lie has been caught. To reduce the Yamuna's pollution ahead of Chhath, the BJP stopped the UP canal's water flow. Haryana's BJP government diverted all water meant for UP farmers from Hathnikund into the Yamuna to make it appear clean for a few days," Bharadwaj said, adding that the froth would later be removed using defoaming chemicals.
(With inputs from PTI)
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