The Munak Canal Chhath Ghat was inaugurated along an 11-km stretch in North Delhi on Thursday, with the Rs 115.29-crore project aimed at providing organised facilities for devotees and converting a long-neglected canal corridor into a public recreational space ahead of the festival.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the facility along both banks of the canal. Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, MP Praveen Khandelwal and Delhi Cabinet Ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Kapil Mishra attended the event.
The project includes steps, lighting, parks and other public amenities intended to support Chhath celebrations. Nabin said the development reflected respect for the faith and cultural identity of the Purvanchal community and would contribute to transforming the environment and landscape around the canal. He said the facility would allow devotees to observe the festival with dignity and better arrangements.
Gupta said the canal stretch had remained neglected for years and that devotees had long sought a properly equipped ghat. She said the project had been taken up as a priority after the BJP came to power in Delhi. The Chief Minister also said she would visit different ghats and offer arghya during the festival.
The wider scheme comprises seven major development components. These include revival of the canal, construction of Chhath ghats, service roads along both banks, road widening, bridges near Singalpur and Haiderpur, plantation, landscaping, parking and other public facilities.
The project is at different stages across the corridor. Around three kilometres of ghat development in the Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency has been completed, while work on another 2.5-km stretch in Wazirpur is underway. The plan also includes inspection roads connecting the Outer Ring Road to Prembari Bridge and a six-lane bridge linking Shalimar Bagh with Pitampura.
Malhotra said the facility would provide a new identity to Delhi’s cultural heritage and could support Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja and other cultural and social activities throughout the year. Parvesh Sahib Singh said the Purvanchal community had contributed significantly to building Delhi and described access to such facilities as a right rather than a concession.
The project therefore combines festival infrastructure with a broader canal-corridor redevelopment plan. Its next visible milestones will be the completion of the ongoing Wazirpur works and the delivery of the planned roads, bridges, landscaping and public amenities across the remaining stretches.
