Four day long Chhath Festival concludes in Jharkhand

Ranchi: The four-day-long Chhath Mahaparv dedicated to the worship of the Sun God concluded in the state after devotees offered arghya to the rising sun at the various Chhath Ghats spread across the length and breadth of Jharkhand.

A sea of devotees since the wee hours of the day started gathering at the banks of their nearby river bodies and after the sun came out in the sky the devotees along with their family members and friends offered arghya to the god making this four-day-long festival come to an end. 

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren celebrated the festival in Ranchi as he reached the Hatania pond to offer arghya along with the devotees. After offering arghya to the sun god he prayed for the well-being and prosperity of the people of entire state and the nation and hoped that all wishes of the devotees may come true.

The festival had commenced on Friday with ‘nahay-khay’ during which people took bath at their nearby river bodies and prepared lunch consisting of rice, dal mixed with pumpkin in pure ghee. On Saturday ‘kharna’ was performed where devotes prepared ‘kheer’ which was offered to the god and distributed among friends, family members and acquaintances.

Sunday evening the people reached the nearby ghats where they will offer ‘arghya’ to the setting sun and on Monday the festival came to an end after again argya being offered to the rising sun.

In wake of the festival, elaborate security arrangements were made in the state and also in the state capital where not only the traffic was diverted and barricading erected to ensure hassle-free movement of the devotees on the other hand policemen were also deployed at the banks of the rivers while a team of NDRF with motor boats was posted in all major dams of the state capital including Kanke and Dhurwa along with Bada Talaab and Hatania Pond.