City’s Yamuna ghats spruced up for Chhath

The Delhi government and the three municipal corporations are working in tandem to make the river banks ready for the festival. The authorities concerned are doing it all to ensure that residents enjoy the festival. The authorities are intensifying up safety and security arrangements around the ghats for people, who will throng the riverbanks on the Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The festival, wherein devotees pay obeisance to the sun god, is observed mainly by people from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. 

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself took stock of Chhath preparations near ITO on Sunday.

Mayors of all three municipal corporations, along with  their sub-ordinates, also visited various ghats in the city and reviewed the situation. 

South MCD Mayor Subhash Arya said the civic body had made various arrangements so that residents could celebrate the festival peacefully in a clean environment. He added that special arrangements for sanitation and beautification have been made at ghats under the corporation’s jurisdiction. He added that additional LED lights are being installed to ensure that there is proper lighting at the  ghats.

 Arya said mobile dispensary vans are also being deployed at the ghats. “We have one major ghat – Kalindi Kunj Ghat – under our jurisdiction, which attracts a huge crowd every year on this festival. We have already made sanitation and beautification arrangements in the area,” he said.

North MCD Mayor Ravinder Gupta said the corporation is committed to provide the best services to devotees. He added that we have announced a holiday for North MCD employees on the occasion of Chhath, but the corporation’s various departments would work round-the-clock to ensure a peaceful, happy and safe festival. 

Gupta said residents can call the MCD’s helpline to lodge a complaint. “We are keeping a close eye on the Chhath preparations,” he said. 

Ram Narayan Dubey, Leader the of House in East Delhi Municipal Corporation, too, took stock of preparedness at ghats in East Delhi, where  majority of devotees thong to celebrate Chhath. 

In East Delhi, ghats at Sonia Vihar and Geeta Colony are also being prepared and barricades are being put up.

People from Bihar and Eastern UP pay obeisance to  the Sun at river banks or other water bodies. The national Capital houses a sizeable population from these states. 

“We are making all arrangements and preparations are almost complete at ghats under our jurisdiction. Besides, we are making sanitation arrangements at the ghats. We have also put up mobile dispensaries in the area,” said director (press and information), North and East Delhi Municipal Corporations, Yogendra Singh Mann.

North Delhi has ghats such as Wazirabad Ghat, Ram Ghat and Kudesia Ghat, besides Western Yamuna Canal that crosses at Pitampura. 

“We have done levelling at the ghats, removed weeds and vegetation that sprung up during monsoon. Besides, we have carried out fumigation in the area and put up mobile toilets. The Delhi government’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department is coordinating with us in managing the 

preparations. They will take care of cleaning of the river and deploy divers for carrying out rescue operations, if needed,” Mann said.