Govt. to construct 17 model Chhath ghats along Yamuna: CM

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Wednesday that the government is constructing 17 model ghats along the Yamuna river and over 1,000 across the Capital to accommodate devotees during the four-day Chhath Puja beginning on October 25.

Ms. Gupta also said the government will withdraw all cases filed against devotees in previous years for offering prayers on the banks of the Yamuna.

“Each subdivision will have at least one model ghat to make the festival accessible to devotees in every area,” she said at a press conference.

The Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back, saying, “It is election time in Bihar, so they [BJP] are doing this drama to get the votes of Purvanchalis.”

The model ghats are being developed over stretches ranging from half a kilometre to one and a half kilometres depending on the needs of the local population, Ms. Gupta said.

Cleanliness drive

She said around 200 ghats will host cultural programmes during the festival and that MPs, MLAs, councillors, and other public representatives have launched a city-wide cleanliness drive at ghats in their respective constituencies.

Later in the day, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa visited a ghat at ITO and joined efforts to clean the area. However, AAP dismissed his action as “drama”.