Patna’s Chhath arrangements have covered more than 100 Ganga ghats with barricading, emergency teams, waste-segregation points and temporary ponds as devotees began the festival’s 36-hour waterless fast after observing Kharna on Saturday.
The Patna Municipal Corporation has prepared the ghats across the city, including seven locations under the Danapur Municipal Council, according to a communiqué issued on Saturday. The civic body has also planned the festival as a zero-waste event, with 43 waste-segregation points established along the riverfront sites.
The arrangements come as devotees observe Kharna, the second day of Chhath. Families prepare and distribute rasiao, a traditional kheer made with rice, milk and jaggery, after evening prayers. The offerings are made first to Chhathi Maiya before being shared with relatives and neighbours. After the ritual, vratis begin a 36-hour fast without food or water, ending after the morning arghya to the rising sun on Monday.
For the civic administration, the festival requires temporary capacity and crowd-management measures at multiple riverfront locations. Temporary ponds have been created at LCT, Rajapur Pul and Pahalwan ghats, each designed to accommodate around 500 vratis. Another pond at Abdul Rahmanpur Ghat in Patna City can accommodate approximately 300 devotees.
PMC’s preparations include approach roads, lighting, changing rooms, watchtowers, control rooms and parking facilities. Separate entry and exit routes have been arranged, while double-layer barricading has been installed to regulate movement and improve safety at the ghats.
The district administration has deployed National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force teams, along with trained divers, at the riverfront locations. Medical teams equipped with essential medicines, including anti-snake venom, will remain on alert during the celebrations. Backup generators and additional lighting have also been arranged for the festival period.
The city’s Chhath preparations show how a major religious gathering places simultaneous demands on public access, temporary facilities, emergency response and waste management. The zero-waste plan requires waste to be separated into four categories for scientific processing, while the crowd-control system depends on coordinated movement through designated entry and exit points.
At the household level, the festival continues to bring families together. Geeta, a resident of Boring Road, said her nearly 70-year-old mother-in-law was observing Chhath this year, bringing the family together for prayers and the distribution of prasad.
The 36-hour fast will continue until devotees offer arghya to the rising sun on Monday, when the remaining crowd-management, medical and emergency arrangements are expected to remain in operation at the prepared ghats.
