The Hindu : New Delhi News : Facilities for Chhath Puja sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 04, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Facilities for Chhath Puja sought

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: With just ten days to go for “Chhath Puja” or “Surya Srishti”, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Harsh Vardhan on Saturday demanded that the Government make sufficient arrangements for cleansing all the water bodies of the Capital so that more than 40 lakh people from Poorvanchal living here may not face any problem in conducting their prayers.

He also demanded adequate security arrangements, provision of proper lighting and night shelters for the festival.

In a statement, Dr. Vardhan said the devotees had faced a lot of problems last year due to inadequate arrangements. He said efforts should therefore be made for providing sufficient water in the Yamuna and for cleaning all the water bodies in Delhi ahead of the festival.

“At present the water level of the Yamuna is a foot below the normal level. The Delhi Government should request the Haryana Government to release 200 cusecs of water immediately so that sufficient water is available in the Yamuna between November 13 and 16, the days of Chhath Puja.”

Stating that the water released from Haryana takes about two to three days to reach Delhi, Dr. Vardhan said efforts should be made to ensure that there is adequate water in the river after Diwali.

Dr. Vardhan said for the 40 lakh people of Poorvanchal living in different areas of Delhi, Chhath Puja is a major festival. This puja is done for the welfare of the family by paying obeisance to the rising sun on the sixth day after Diwali. So it would start from November 13 with “Nahaye-Khaye”. On November 14, the worshippers will observe “Kharna”.

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