Jamshedpur: In the light of devotees traditionally offering prayers to the Sun god dipping into the river the administration has resolved to identify safe places (Chhat ghats) for offering prayers at the two rivers.
Besides, the administration has decided to depute divers and life jackets in adequate strength at Chhat ghats.
In this connection, a meeting was held at the sub divisional office wherein various agencies of the government along with town division officials of Jusco, city based utility services company, were present to prepare safety measures ahead of the popular festival.
� We are working hard to ensure safety for the devotees. We are taking precautionary measures to ensure safety at the Chhat ghats. More over we have also approached corporate officials to help in ensuring safety,� said Suraj Kumar SDO, Dhalbhum.
The festivity is scheduled on November 6-7. Apart from the routine directive of cleaning up chhath ghats the administration has decided to deploy large number of volunteers who would be motivating devotees not to litter puja paraphernalia in the ghats but dispose it in designated dust bins at the major ghats.
Meanwhile officials of Chhath Ghat Committee said that there is an urgent need to properly clean the river banks, and various water bodies on the occasion of the festival of Chhat Puja, which is celebrated with gaiety and fervour by people of the city.
They said that people take bath in water tanks and rivers and therefore it is essential that the cleaning work of these water bodies is completed on time.
�The administration should also ensure proper lighting facilities, life saving divers along the ghats. Thousands of devotees would offer “Araghya“ to the setting sun at various ghats in Mango, Adityapur, Baghbera, Sidghora. The administration should deploy police personnel and emergency services like ambulance at riverbanks,� noted a political leader.
Meanwhile several social and cultural organisations of the city have decided to set up canopies near ghats to supply essential commodities to the devotees. Administration is barricading the danger zones and also putting up sign boards to caution the revelers visiting the riverbanks.
In 2006, eight youths, including three teenagers had drowned into the Subernarekha river here on Chhat causing much embarrassment to the administration, then.
Ironically, in the wake of parched river, the government had issued directive to the Chandil dam to release water in the Subernarekha river a day ahead of Chhat on last year.
�This year the situation is just opposite so we are making adequate arrangements to make the festival an incident free celebration,� said a district administration official.
In addition to this, several of the non government agencies are carrying out cleaning drive at the riverbanks to make the place clean for the devotees. �At Kharkahi riverbank are we have identified few Chhat ghats were our volunteers are carrying out the cleaning drive ahead of the festival,� said a volunteer of an NGO.
