On the third day of the grand public festival of Chhath, devotees across the country, including Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, gather on the banks of water bodies to pay homage to the setting sun.
A huge crowd of pilgrims has been observed in various cities at the Chhath venues. A large number of police officers, as well as rescuers, including divers, SDRF, and NDRF, have been deployed to ensure the safety of pilgrims on the water banks.
Large-scale measures were taken in Bihar to conduct the evening Arghya at all water bodies. SDRF, NDRF, local divers, and disaster relief assistants have been deployed on different banks across the state. SDRF is deployed on 254 banks, NDRF on 123, and local divers and assistants on 12,806 banks. The purpose of these measures is to ensure the safety of a large number of pilgrims and the possibility of immediate assistance and rescue operations in case of an emergency.
Facilities have been organized for pilgrims on the Chhath banks in Patna. According to the administration, all permanent banks are connected to the river embankment, which facilitates access for devotees. Officials urged pilgrims to follow all instructions. The Chief Minister of Bihar, Samrat Chaudhary, congratulated people on the evening Arghya and wished that the blessings of the setting sun and the goddess Chhathi would bring happiness, peace, prosperity, and well-being to the people.
The district administration took care of order on the Chhath bank in Patna. The magistrate reported that all necessary preparations have been completed, and visitors to the bank highly appreciate the organizational measures taken by the administration.
An atmosphere of the Chhath festival prevails in the capital, Delhi. On the third day of the festival, Sunday evening, a large number of pilgrims arrive at various banks to pay tribute to the setting sun and worship the deity Bhaskara. A significant number of pilgrims also gathered on the banks in the Sangam Vihar area of Delhi.
About 50 Chhath banks were created in the Sangam Vihar area, where numerous pilgrims arrived to perform Arghya to the setting sun. Since a large number of Purvanchal community members reside in this area, special Chhath banks were set up in different parts of the area.
Photographs of the Chhath banks in Sangam Vihar show a large gathering of pilgrims. Chhath Brahmins arrived at the banks with their families to pay tribute to the deity Bhaskara. The Delhi government provided comprehensive facilities for the comfortable stay of the pilgrims.
Due to the large number of pilgrims arriving at the banks of the Yamuna River during the Chhath celebration, changes have been made to the traffic system in Delhi. According to the Delhi Traffic Police, traffic will be altered on many streets leading to the banks of the Yamuna and those connected to them from 2:00 PM on Sunday until 8:00 AM on Monday.
Traffic will be regulated depending on the needs at places such as Ram Ghat, Sur Ghat, and Bajrgi Ghat in the Vajirabad area, as well as Hati Ghat in the ITO Estate area and Vasudev Ghat near ISBT. Road closures may occur on Bund Road, Vajirabad Road, Vikas Marg, and ITO Estate Street. Drivers are strongly advised to obey traffic rules and follow diversion signs.
Extensive measures were also taken in Lucknow to hold the Chhath festival. A total of 157 locations are planned for Chhath within the jurisdiction of the commissionerate. These locations are distributed across zones: 47 in the East Zone, 17 in the West, 8 in the North, 63 in the South, and 22 in the Central Zone. Among the mentioned places are Kudiyaghat, Lalluml Ghat, Pakka Pul, Hanuman Setu, Nishatganj, Hatu Shyam Mandir Ghat, and Julelal.
