4-day Chhath Festival Begins in Bihar

Details: Category: More News; Created on Saturday, 17 November 2012 18:15

Chhath begins with Nahay-khay across Bihar on Saturday.

Patna: Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees in Patna on Saturday observed 'Nahai-Khai' to mark the beginning of the 4-day festival of Chaiti Chhath.

After taking a dip in the Ganges, men and women offered prayer to the rising sun before eating rice, dal, and vegetable made of 'kaddu'.

On Sunday, devotees would observe 'kharna' during which Chhath observers would fast for the whole day and eat only 'roti' and 'kheer' in the night.

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The first 'arghya' would be offered on Monday evening while the second arghya is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

After taking a dip in the holy river of Ganges, women, using dry wood from mango trees, cooked food on clay oven being sold by small vendors throughout the city.

Popular television star from Bihar Ratan Rajput also took a break from her busy schedule to return to Patna to observe Chhath.

Meanwhile, district officials were busy cleaning up roads and ghats while posting danger signs at over 32 ghats that have been deemed hazardous for any human activity.

On Monday and Tuesday, dozens of boats carrying expert divers and medical professional would be monitoring the activities from the river. The district administration has also imposed a day-long prohibition on the plying of any boat on Monday while on Tuesday, no boats would be allowed to operate before 8:00 am, Patna District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who returned from his 8-day trip to Pakistan on late Friday, reviewed Chhath preparation from a motorboat on Saturday morning. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chowdhary, Urban Development Minister Prem Kumar, Consumer Protection Minister Shyam Rajak, and a number of senior government officials.