Chhath celebrated in Bihar

Patna, Oct 28 (UNI) Lakhs of devotees in Bihar today paid obeisance to the setting 'Sun' and offered 'araghya' with holy water, milk and seasonal fruits on the banks of different rivers, including the Ganga, on the occasion of 'Chhath.' Chhath festival will conclude with offering of 'araghya' to the rising Sun tomorrow.

The festival is observed in Bihar since time immemorial with the unflinching faith that the Sun God fulfils wishes if 'araghya' is offered with complete dedication and devotion.

Earlier, thousands of Chhath devotees assembled at different ghats along the Ganga in Patna since early morning and took holy dip in the water before preparing 'prasad' on earthen Chulha(oven).

Women were engaged in traditional preparataion of 'Thekua, which is an important component of the 'prasad' while the men were busy procuring various articles for the celebrations.

The state administration has made elaborate arrangements to ensure that the devotees did not face any problem on their way to the ghats of different rivers.

For the first time, arrangements were made for video monitoring of all the ghats in the state capital to facilitate smooth celebration of the Chhath festival.

All the ghats had been cleaned while some of the dangerous ghats with unpredictable turbulent currents were identified to avoid unpleasnt incidents.

Policemen were deputed at 'dangerous ghats'. The devotees were facilitated by the police and volunteers to reach the nearby safe ghats.

Artists created idols of the Sun God.

Artists also potrayed the mythological origin of Ganga from the mouth of a cow through the work titled 'Gomukh Se Gangotri'. Such creative works were displayed in other localities of the state capital along the river Ganges.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had issued instruction to the authorities concerned to ensure smooth celebration of Chhath festival for enabling the devotees to offer 'araghya' without any difficulty. He, alongwith his cabinet colleagues and senior officials, personally travelled in a motorboat to have a view of the Chhath devotees offering araghya on the bank of the river Ganga in Patna.

Earlier, Mr Kumar had also visited different ghats in Patna to take stock of the arrangements for the festival.

State Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah said all the District Magistrates and police Superintendents had been directed to make proper arrangements to ensure smooth celebration of the Chhath festival.

Various voluntary organisations have also worked hard to help in cleansing operations launched by the local administrations in different districts to facilitate the devotees in offering ''araghya'' without any difficulty.

Reports were received from different parts of the state about devotees offering araghya to setting Sun God. Thousands of devotees also offered 'araghya' in Sun temples at 'Deo' and'Aungari' in Aurangabad and Nalanda districts respectively.

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