Chhath Puja :- Govt to ensure water in Yamuna, power for Chhath Puja

AHEAD of the Chhath Puja on November 16, the Delhi government is gearing up to ensure that all necessary preparations are in place. While Power Minister A K Walia has directed all three discoms to ensure 24-hour uninterrupted power supply during the Puja days from 14 to 17 November, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee is burning the midnight oil to procure water from the Haryana government.

The Chhath Puja is a popular festival in Bihar and eastern UP, and since there are a lot of people from those regions working in Delhi, the puja has always been celebrated with much gusto in the Capital as well. Each year lakhs of people make their way to the Yamuna to offer prayers to the Sun God.

Since an intrinsic part of the festival is immersion in water, the Delhi government has requested the Haryana government to release 200 cusecs of water, “They have accepted our request and by November 16, there will be sufficient water in the Yamuna for the Puja,” said Delhi Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan.
The government has also organised tents, drinking water and electricity at 28 ghats on the Yamuna.

A large number of devotees spend the entire night at the ghats, and to ensure their safety, Walia has instructed discoms “to make suitable arrangements for adequate lighting at all Chhath Ghats in Delhi.” With the throng expected at the ghats, sanitation is another important issue. The authorities have made arrangements for around 300 portable toilets to be set up at puja sites for the period. The Northern Railways too has jumped into the fray and introduced a special train between Delhi and Patna to accommodate the passengers between the two cities.

Delhi Police have already deployed men at major railway stations, “We have made adequate arrangements for the Chhath festivities. We have deployed personnel to ensure there are no stampedes. On the days of the puja we will provide security arrangements at the ghats too,” said Delhi Police PRO, Rajan Bhagat.

The Chhath Puja has always been a great platform for political parties to woo voters, and needless to say all parties want to be part of the festivities. In the lead-up to the puja, the Delhi state BJP has submitted a list of demands to the Delhi government to provide adequate arrangements for the Purvanchalis, or people from east UP. “The Puja day should be declared a gazetted holiday and people from Purvanchal should be allowed to travel free in DTC buses,” demanded Delhi BJP President Dr Harsha Vardhan. Earlier, ruling party MLA Mahabal Mishra had assured the people from Purvanchal that once they saw the fool-proof arrangements made by the Delhi government, “they would continue to extend their support to the Congress party.