Ranchi Municipal Corporation has prepared 72 Chhath ghats and built 63 artificial ponds across the city ahead of the festival, deploying more than 1,400 workers for sanitation, crowd management and site arrangements. The civic body is also installing additional lighting, barricades, warning signs and temporary changing rooms at locations where devotees will gather for the rituals.
The preparations come with a narrow operational window. Kali Puja idol immersions are scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving the RMC two days to clean water bodies and surrounding areas before devotees gather for evening Arghya on Sunday.
The civic body has deployed over 1,200 sanitation workers, along with another 200 labourers engaged under the Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojana. Their work includes continuous sweeping, waste disposal, grass cutting and the application of bleaching powder at the ghats and adjoining areas.
Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the corporation was finalising arrangements to ensure that Chhath was observed in a clean, safe and organised environment. He said RMC officials and staff were present at the sites to monitor preparations and supervise the work.
The 63 artificial ghats have been created at makeshift ponds in different wards. According to the civic body, the facilities are intended to allow devotees to perform rituals closer to their homes and reduce pressure on major ghats. The decentralised arrangements also place greater emphasis on the condition and safety of smaller neighbourhood water bodies, rather than concentrating all activity at a few established sites.
Bamboo barricades have been installed at all ponds to keep devotees within designated safe zones. The RMC has placed more than 260 signs warning of excessive depth at vulnerable locations. These measures are being combined with site-level monitoring as the corporation prepares for large gatherings near water bodies.
Lighting is another major part of the arrangements. The civic body is installing 1,508 additional lights across 83 locations and has arranged 88 generators to provide backup during power cuts. It is also setting up 501 temporary changing rooms at prominent ghats for devotees.
The preparations reflect the range of services required for a large public festival in a city environment: sanitation teams must clear waste and maintain access routes, while municipal staff must manage lighting, water-edge safety, movement and basic amenities across both major and temporary sites. The immediate challenge for the RMC is to complete post-immersion cleaning before the first evening Arghya on Sunday.
Municipal officials and staff are continuing to monitor the sites as the remaining cleaning, lighting, barricading and amenity works are completed ahead of the festival.
