The Deo Kartik Chhath fair at Bihar’s historic Sun Temple in Aurangabad will be formally inaugurated on Friday, November 13, with the district administration preparing for around 12 lakh devotees. Authorities have arranged temporary accommodation, medical care, transport, security and crowd-control measures for the large religious gathering.
State ministers Dilip Kumar Jaiswal and Rama Nishad are scheduled to inaugurate the fair. District magistrate Abhilasha Sharma and superintendent of police Upendra Nath Verma inspected the Sun Temple premises, Suryakund and Rudrakund to review arrangements ahead of the expected influx.
A temporary tent city covering 1 lakh square feet has been established to accommodate pilgrims. Each tent will have 250 beds, while portable washrooms, drinking water and bathing facilities have also been arranged. A second tent city is being developed near Deo police station, with lighting, toilets and hand pumps for visitors.
The preparations reflect the logistical demands of managing a temporary population on a scale comparable to that of a large urban settlement. Officials have been directed to ensure proper barricading, regulate movement at entry and exit points, and monitor the bathing ghats regularly. These measures are intended to separate pedestrian flows, reduce crowding and maintain access to key areas around the temple and water bodies.
Medical support will include ambulances, medical teams and essential medicines, along with a help desk for visitors. Police personnel, including women officers, will be deployed across the fair area. State Disaster Response Force teams and trained divers will remain stationed near the ponds as part of the safety arrangements for devotees using the bathing facilities.
Transport links have also been planned between key points around the fair. Free services will operate between Deo Mor and the block office, and between Male Nagar and Bahuara Mor. The transport arrangements are intended to connect visitors with the fair zone and reduce pressure on local movement routes. Comfed will distribute milk to devotees during the celebrations.
The celebrations have already begun with a Ganga aarti attended by Magadh inspector general Vikas Vaibhav. Deo temple deputy chairman Golu Gupta said the city would be decorated on an unprecedented scale. Chief priest Lakhan Pathak said devotees frequently believed their wishes were fulfilled at the temple, while Bihar Religious Trust Board chairman Ranbir Nandan said the site gave devotees strength to observe the ‘nirjal’ fast.
The district administration’s preparations will remain focused on managing the expected gathering through the inauguration and the main days of the fair, with security deployment, medical response, transport operations and monitoring at the bathing ghats forming the key components of the plan.
