Patna. The Bihar government has made extensive preparations across the state for the ritual of offering Arghya to the setting sun on the third day (Monday) of Chhath Puja. The officers provided this information. Devotees will worship Chhathi Maiya by offering Arghya to the setting sun on Monday. Lakhs of devotees are likely to flock to river Ganga and other water bodies in various parts of the state including Patna. This four-day great festival will conclude with offering Arghya to the rising sun on Tuesday morning.
Patna district administration has made tight security arrangements at more than 102 ghats, 45 gardens and 63 ponds of river Ganga to avoid any untoward incident during Chhath. According to officials, 205 magistrates, 171 security personnel at ‘watch towers’, 103 medical camps, 23 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 444 divers, 323 boats and 143 civil defense volunteers have been deployed for smooth Chhath Puja in Patna district.
An official said, “All the ghats are ready for Chhath Puja. Adequate arrangements have been made in Patna. All the permanent ghats have been connected to the ‘riverfront’ so that devotees will not face any problem in reaching. Guidelines have also been issued regarding Chhath Puja, which are necessary to be followed. Officials have also been directed to ensure that the devotees do not face any kind of inconvenience.”
“It is prohibited to visit six dangerous and seven unsuitable ghats.” “A large number of additional security forces have been deployed in the capital for crowd management and to prevent any untoward incident,” he said. The four-day festival began on October 25 with the ‘Nahay-Khay’ ritual and will conclude on October 28. It is celebrated on Shashthi of Kartik Shukla which falls six days after Diwali.
On this day, devotees worship Chhathi Maiya (Sun God) and pray for the prosperity of families and children. On the first day, in ‘Nahay-Khay’, devotees take bath in the Ganga or other rivers and ponds and eat food. Fast is observed on the second day, which is broken in the evening after offering Arghya to the Sun and Moon. On the third day, during the ‘First Arghya’ or ‘Sandhya Arghya’, devotees go to the river bank with their families and offer Arghya and Prasad to the Sun God. The festival ends by offering Arghya to the rising sun on the fourth day.
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