Delhi is preparing more than 1,400 Chhath ghats for the festival from November 13 to 16, including an 11-kilometre ghat along the Munak Canal between the Outer Ring Road and Inderlok, according to a review of arrangements chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
The Munak Canal ghat is being developed near Singalpur village. Steps are being built on both sides of the canal, along with a cemented road intended to make movement easier for devotees during the पूजा period. The facility is expected to serve residents from several surrounding Assembly constituencies.
Gupta held a meeting with Chhath Puja committees and officials from relevant departments at Janseva Sadan on Monday. She directed departments to complete all major preparations at least two days before the festival begins and asked district administrations to inspect the sites regularly and address deficiencies.
The inauguration of the Munak Canal ghat has been scheduled for November 12. BJP national president Nitin Nabin is expected to inaugurate the facility at a programme near Singalpur village, the report said.
The number of identified Chhath ghats in Delhi has increased from 1,326 last year to more than 1,400 this year. The arrangements include covered tents at large and medium-sized ghats because of the expected cold weather in November. Changing rooms and toilets are also being planned for women.
Closed-circuit television cameras will be installed at major ghats. The Chief Minister also directed officials to repair access roads, ensure adequate lighting and take measures to control dust on routes leading to the sites. She said no route should remain dark or cause inconvenience to devotees.
Crowds are expected to be particularly heavy on November 15 and 16. Additional sanitation teams are therefore scheduled to remain deployed around the clock during those two days. The plans place responsibility on district administrations and civic departments to keep access routes and ghat areas operational through the busiest part of the festival.
The preparations will test how Delhi manages temporary public infrastructure across a large number of dispersed sites. The immediate official milestones are completion of the major works two days before the festival, the November 12 inauguration of the Munak Canal ghat and the deployment of additional cleaning teams during the peak crowd period.
