With Chhath Puja around the corner, Gurugram is abuzz with preparations as ghats across the city are being cleaned and decorated for the festival dedicated to the Sun God. The celebration holds special significance for the city’s over 4.5 lakh Purvanchali residents, officials said.
Raghwendra Singh, Zila Sanyojak, BJP Purvanchal Prakosth, said that there are over 50 to 60 ghats in Gurugram where Chhath Puja will be held. “The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm across the city,” he said.
At Sheetla Mata Mandir, sector 6, which draws nearly 40,000 devotees annually, the sarovar is being rebuilt brick by brick to facilitate the morning and evening rituals known as ‘arghya’. BN Lal, patron of Patliputra Sanskritik Chetna Samiti said preparations began soon after Diwali. “The cleaning has been completed, and arrangements have been made for devotees coming from different places. We will also set up tents for their stay,” he added.
Cultural programmes have been planned for October 27 evening featuring popular singers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh performing devotional songs in Bhojpuri, Maithili and Hindi. “Artists like Ratnesh Tiwari of Kesariya Bhakti Channel, Anushka Sakshi from Samastipur, Bihar, Srishti Shruti, Vaishnavi from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh have been invited,” BN Lal said.
Preparations are in full swing at Shakti Park in sector 10. “We are decorating the ghat in the traditional way with banana leaves and balloons,” said Dr JP Kushwaha, director of the Youngster Sewa Committee and Chhath Puja Committee. He added that the rituals will begin with ‘nahay khay,’ which means ‘bathe and eat’ on October 25, followed by ‘kharna puja,’ which is a day of fasting from sunrise to sunset on October 26.
This will be followed by ‘sandhya arghya’ on October 27, wherein devotees pray as the sun sets and ‘Usha arghya’ on October 28, in which devotees pray to the rising sun.
Preeti Devi, a resident of sector 50, said, “Chhath Puja symbolises purity, discipline and gratitude.”
Dhananjay Jha, RWA president of Suncity Avenue in Sector 102, said that a common ghat has been set up for residents living along the Dwarka Expressway. “MCG joint commissioner Vishal Kumar has inspected the work at the site. This is the only ghat in the area with an open view of both the setting and rising sun, making it ideal for Chhath rituals,” he added.
At Patel Nagar in sector 15, organisers have planned something unique. VishwVijay Jha, general secretary of Mithilanchal Jan Seva Manch, said that all artists from Bihar are women who are going to lead the cultural programme.
Referring to former chief minister and union minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s promise to build 100 permanent ghats in Gurugram during his tenure, Raghwendra said that many members and leaders from the Purvanchali community are disappointed with the promise not being fulfilled.
When contacted, Ankita Chaudhary, MCG additional commissioner, refused to comment on the preparations.
A junior MCG official said that the corporation has deployed water and sanitation workers for Chhath Puja and is inspecting the ghats set up across the city.