Social organisations distribute Chhath Puja materials among devotees at Ara

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Essential items including fruits, coconuts, and kalsups were distributed among the devotees who are performing Chhatha Puja this year by a number of social organisations at different places at Ara, headquarters of Bhojpur District, by organising camps.

Rotary Club of Ara West held a camp near Shaheed Bhawan Chowk, Punjab National Bank at Gangi and Guasganj, Satya Charitable Trust at Bazaar Samiti, Satya Old Age Home at Old Police Line, Vishal Enterprises at Gangi, Basant Lal and Sons at Gopali Chowk, Bhojpur District Shaundik Sangh near Nawada Chowk, Umang at Nav Durga Temple, Lok Jagriti Ara near J P statue, Bhojpuriya Yuva Kalyan Samiti and Bhashkar Samiti jointly near Ramana Maidan, Rotary Club Ara near Mahila College, Satya Vridh Ashram at Pakari Mission Road, Inner Wheel Woman Club at Raman Maidan, DPS International Residential School on Godhana Road, Gift Academy Residential School at Ahirpurwa and distributed essential items required in Chhatha Puja like coconuts, kalsups, fruits, bindi, sindoor, coconuts, sarees among the devotees.

The members of these organisations including Sanjay Rai, Kanchan Verma, Shivani, Anuradha and others said that they had been distributing such items for the last several years and would continue this service in future also. They said that they have also installed a number of makeshift stalls at different Chhath ghats in Bhojpur district for distribution of milk, tea, and other items among the devotees and added that temporary change rooms had also been made for the woman devotees at the ghats.

Meanwhile, popular devotional songs of Chhath like ‘kanche hi baans ke bahangia, daura lachkat jaaye’, ‘Nadiya ke teere-teere,’ ‘aaju chhatiya maayi ke ghat suhawan lage’ rent the air and the entire Ara town wore a festive look.

The four- day chhath festival started with ‘nahay-khay on October 31, 2019, followed by ‘kharana’ or ‘lohan’ on November 1, 2019. The first arghya or oblation will be offered to setting on Sun on November 2, 2019, and to the rising Sun on November 3, 2019.

Essential Puja items such as coconut, apple, orange, sugar cane, daura, kalsup, mango wire woods, Ghaghara nimbu, water chestnut, radish, guava, bottle gourd, custard apple, sootani, banana, banana leaves have flooded the market.

Ramu Kumar is selling vegetables and fruits at Meerganj, a vegetable market, at inflated rates because people bargain a lot. While one bottle gourd costs Rs 40 to Rs 80 depending on size and weight, banana leaf is available at Rs 15 per piece, he said adding that one coconut and one sugarcane was available at Rs 50 to Rs 25 per piece respectively.

Md Imtyaz who sells fruits at Jagjiwan Market said that the most common Shimla apples cost, which costs  Rs 135 per kg, are in huge demand. Other apple varieties ‘red delicious’ and ‘Fuji’ are available in the market at a price of Rs 275 and Rs 250 per kg respectively.

Reshma Singh of Hari Ji Ka Hata said that she always cooks ‘Prasad’ on brass utensils and has bought all the essential items needed for the Puja. Radha Devi of Professor Colony said that she observes the Chhatha festival in traditional manner. Hundreds of women gathered at village handpumps and river to wash and dry wheat and rice for the festival. The owner of the flour mills washed their mills for grinding wheat and rice for the festival to maintain sanctity of the festival.

With a view to ensuring all type of facilities and security during Chhath Puja, Bhojpur district administration is busy giving finishing touches to its preparations at all the ghats for Chhath festivities. Bhojpur DM Roushan Kushwaha and the SP Sushil Kumar held a meeting with all the officials concerned on October 30, 2019, to ensure a safe and peaceful Chhath Puja in the district. They said that 125 magistrates and 122 police officials had been assigned individual tasks for the festival and directed to maintain law and order at any cost.

The two officials said that they inspected almost all the ghats in Bhojpur district and directed the officials to ensure safety and facility to the devotees and also maintain peace, law and order at any cost and added the ghats will be secured before the devotees arrive there for offering oblation or ‘arghya’ to the Sun god in the evening on November 2, 2019, and in the morning on November 3, 2019.

They said a number of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras had been installed to maintain round the clock vigil on the ghats. They said Public address systems had been installed at all the major ghats. They said bamboo barricading of major and dangerous ghats had been completed.