Delhi Metro services will begin at 4:30 am on November 16, two-and-a-half hours earlier than the usual 6 am start, to help devotees reach ghats for the Chhath Puja morning ritual across the capital.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said trains would start from all terminal stations on the network and run at 15-minute intervals on every line until regular revenue services begin according to the day’s scheduled timetable. The early operations are intended to facilitate devotees travelling for Usha Arghya, the offering made to the rising Sun on the final morning of the festival.
The announcement was made by Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh, while the DMRC provided the operational details. The early start gives commuters an additional window to travel before the morning ritual, particularly those heading to ghats along the Yamuna and other designated celebration sites in the city.
The decision comes as devotees across Delhi observe Chhath with traditional prayers, offerings and ritual bathing. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday offered Arghya to the setting Sun at the Yamuna bank in Sonia Vihar and inspected Chhath ghats by boat. She also interacted with devotees and extended festive greetings, according to a statement cited by Millennium Post.
Gupta said the festival represented faith, discipline, cleanliness, dedication and social harmony. She said the Delhi government was committed to improving facilities for the Purvanchali community during festivals and had made better arrangements along the Yamuna for Chhath celebrations.
The chief minister also said the government was developing a ghat along the Munak Canal in North Delhi. The statement did not provide a completion timeline or details of the facility’s capacity and supporting infrastructure.
The early Metro service is one part of the wider transport arrangements announced for the festival. Gupta said special buses had been arranged between Delhi and Bihar to assist people travelling home for Chhath. The source report did not specify the number of buses, routes, departure points or operating schedules.
Chhath is observed by large numbers of devotees in Delhi, including residents from Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. The festival’s main public-space and mobility requirements are concentrated around the evening and morning offerings, when access to riverbanks, canals and temporary ghats becomes especially important.
The DMRC’s decision to open all terminal stations simultaneously is intended to provide network-wide access rather than limit early services to selected corridors. Trains will operate at 15-minute frequencies until normal revenue operations begin, after which services will follow the regular timetable for November 16.
