Friday, 28 October 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Chhath Puja festival will commence with the ritual of Nahay Khay from Friday in Dehradun. This four-day-long festival is dedicated to Lord Surya and Chhath Goddess and its preparations start just after Deepawali. The president of Bihari Mahasabha, Lalan Singh said that the committee has made all preparations for Chhath festival in the city with the help of local bodies including cleaning of ghats at large scale. He said that a separate team has also been formed to maintain cleanliness near water bodies in Tapkeshwar Temple, Chandramani and Maldevata to ensure devotees carry out rituals and prayers in clean spaces for the next four days.
The team members along with the committee will help in cleaning and maintaining cleanliness during the festival, added Singh. Talking about the importance of each day of the festival, Singh said that each day has its own significance in Chhath Puja. He said that on the first day, the devotees who keep fast take a bath, wear clean clothes and prepare Prasad from rice, split chickpeas and pumpkin which are generally prepared on earthen chulha. After offering it to the lord and the goddess, the devotees eat the Prasad. With the Kharna ritual on the second day, the devotees consume Kheer and roti after fasting the whole day, stated Singh.
On the third day, the devotees offer Arghya to the sun in the evening after fasting for 24 hours and conclude the festival with the Arghya to the rising sun on the fourth day. As per the belief, those who fast on Chhath Puja festival and conduct all the rituals with faith, devotion and dedication attain happiness and prosperity, added Singh.
