Governor Visits Patna Ghats; Cleaning Process Slow
Patna: Nov. 12, 2007
 Governor R. S. Gavai, on Monday, visited the ghats of Patna and reviewed the district administration's preparedness for Chhath, Bihar's biggest and strictest religious festival during which millions of Hindu devotees of all ages rush to the Ganges to offer prayers to the Sun god braving chilling temperature.
Gavai, who was accompanied by his wife and a host of top officials including the City Commissioner Rana Awadhesh Singh, visited Patna's ghats on a boat starting from the Patna's Bankipore Club ghat up to the Gai Ghat and instructed the officials to ensure the cleanliness work was completed well before the festival began.
 Meanwhile, the Patna High Court, expressing its dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the cleaning work, took the administration to task while summoning the District Magistrate to appear before the court to answer questions on the related issues.
"Two more days to Chhath and the administration is yet to complete its work," a division bench comprising Chief Justice Narain Rai and Justice Kishore Kumar Mandal said while hearing on a PIL filed by advocate Shyam Kishore Sharma.
Urban Development Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey also instructed the Patna Municipal Corporation to ensure the cleaning work was completed before Chhath and all the ghats were properly identified for the convenience of the devotees.
 Choubey also directed to mark the deep water with wooden poles and red flags to prevent people from inadvertently walking into the danger zones.
Resorting to excuses, Choubey blamed the private contractors for failing to install adequate lighting arrangements on all roads leading to the ghats.
"We had floated a tender to install lights on roads and ghats but the company that eventually got the contract failed to fulfill its obligations. We have blacklisted that company," said the Minister.
|
