Chhath Puja 2023: The civic authorities in the national capital have decided to allocate Rs 40,000 per ward to augment street lights on approach roads of various ghats for Chhath Puja, officials said.
"The MCD has decided to sanction a budgetary allocation of Rs 40,000 per ward for people from Poorvanchal living in Delhi to provide them all kind of facilities for Chhath celebrations," Mayor Shelly Oberoi said in a press conference today (October 20).
Delhi has 250 wards under the MCD. Chhath Puja will be celebrated in November, six days after Diwali. Delhi is home to a large number of people from Poorvanchal (Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh), who observe this festival that pays obeisance to the Sun God.
The MCD is led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which came to power after winning the December 2022 civic polls.
Know more about Chhath Puja:
Chhath is primarily celebrated in states like- Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. During the festival, people fast, bathe in rivers, and offer prayers to thank the Sun God for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and fulfilling wishes.
Devotees offer Goddess Chhath and God Surya (Sun) offerings and pray for blessings with their desires whether it is a wish for a son, husband wealth, healthiness, or any other things. It is believed that a person's desires and prayer from the heart's core would bring blessings.
During the time of fasting, those foods which are assumed to be pure only are consumed and cleanliness is one thing that is cared for the most during the period. The celebration in which non-vegetarian dishes are avoided especially containing the cuisines of grains and species such as millet, lentil, buckwheat, and garlic.
The holy dip into water resources, fasting and abstinent neither drinking a drop of water maintaining purity and cleanliness are the rigorous rituals followed at the time of Chhath. Chhath is marked with the worship of the goodness of family members, their happiness, and prosperity. Chhati Mata is worshipped during the festival, along with the Sun God.
(With PTI inputs)
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