Delhi has inaugurated an 11-km Chhath Ghat along both banks of the Munak Canal in North Delhi, with the government presenting it as the country’s longest such facility ahead of the festival. The Rs 115.29-crore project is intended to provide dedicated spaces and improved civic facilities for devotees from the Purvanchal community and other parts of the city.
Chief minister Rekha Gupta and BJP national president Nitin Nabin inaugurated the facility on Thursday. Union minister of state Harsh Malhotra, Delhi ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Kapil Mishra, MP Praveen Khandelwal and several MLAs were also present.
The project covers the redevelopment of an approximately 11-km stretch along both sides of the canal. According to the Delhi government, the work includes construction of the ghat, service roads, bridges, road widening and beautification. Steps, lighting arrangements and parks are also being developed to support devotees during Chhath rituals.
The redevelopment changes the intended use and appearance of a canal-side stretch that the government described as neglected for years. Gupta said residents had been waiting for a dedicated facility where devotees could perform Chhath rituals, and that the project was taken up as a priority after the BJP government came to power in Delhi.
Nabin said the facility recognised the religious beliefs and cultural identity of the Purvanchal community, whose members, he said, had contributed to Delhi’s development. He described Chhath as a festival rooted in purity, devotion, discipline and gratitude towards nature. Devotees offer arghya to the setting and rising Sun during the festival.
The project is also being positioned as a year-round public and cultural venue. Malhotra said the ghat would support cultural, social and public activities beyond Chhath celebrations, while the government said the redeveloped spaces could host events including Durga Puja and Ganesh Puja.
Parvesh Sahib Singh, who holds the irrigation and flood control portfolio, described the facility as Delhi’s longest Chhath Ghat and the first of its kind in the country to be developed along a canal. The project therefore combines festival infrastructure with a broader canal-edge redevelopment effort involving access roads, bridges and public-space improvements.
The announcement comes as Delhi prepares for Chhath celebrations across the capital. Culture minister Kapil Mishra said celebrations were being organised at 1,400 ghats in Delhi this year and claimed that better arrangements had also been made for devotees at ghats along the Yamuna.
The Munak Canal facility is expected to provide devotees with organised access, steps, lighting and parks during the festival. The government has said the redevelopment will transform the canal-side stretch into a cleaner public space with improved infrastructure and facilities.
