Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta is scheduled to visit Sonia Vihar and Hathi Ghat during Chhath Puja as the city prepares facilities and security arrangements at more than 1,400 ghats, while a Congress inspection has raised concerns about sanitation and water safety at Soorghat in Wazirabad.
Gupta will offer arghya to the setting sun at Sonia Vihar on Sunday, November 15, and visit Hathi Ghat near ITO the following morning to offer prayers to the rising sun, according to the Times of India. The visits come as large numbers of devotees are expected at ghats along the Yamuna and other water bodies across Delhi.
The Delhi government said arrangements include lighting, drinking water, toilets, changing rooms for women and security measures. An 11-kilometre stretch of ghat has also been developed along the Munak Canal in north Delhi, the report said.
The ghats are expected to remain under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. The cameras have been connected to a central control room, allowing officials to monitor activity, flag emergencies and alert security personnel. The system is intended to support a quick response and improve safety for women, children and other devotees.
Gupta said she was personally monitoring preparations and was in contact with public representatives, district officials, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other agencies. She has directed senior officials to remain present at major ghats and address problems faced by visitors, according to the report.
The arrangements have also drawn criticism. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav, after visiting Soorghat in Wazirabad, alleged that the site lacked facilities for devotees to change clothes and was affected by chaos. He further alleged that a large drain was discharging directly into the Yamuna near the ghat, raising concerns about devotees bathing in contaminated water. The allegations were reported by the Times of India and were not independently verified in the supplied material.
The immediate civic challenge for authorities is to ensure that access, sanitation, surveillance and emergency response operate consistently across the city’s many ghats, rather than only at prominent sites. Senior officials have been directed to remain at major locations during the celebrations.
