Biratnagar :The Chhath Ghat (banks of water sources) of various places of Madhes and Koshi Provinces are decorated and embellished on the occasion of the Chhath festival.
The Chhath festival, which is celebrated by worshipping Sun God, began on Friday by observing the Nhaya-Khaya (eat pure food after taking bath) ritual.
With the commencement of Chhath, ponds, rivers, houses, villages and streets of Janakpurdham including Mithila region have become lively with Chhath songs. The houses are decorated with colourful lights.
The festival is observed for four days from Katik Shukala Chaturthi to Kartik Shukala Saptami. All the ponds of Janakpurdham are adorned with lights and flowers.
The Chhath festival is celebrated wishing for happiness, peace and long life of family members.
Priest Gangakant Jha, a resident of Janakpurdham and an expert of Maithil rituals, said that Arawa-Arawain can be observed on the day of Kartik Shukla Titriya. On Friday, the day of Kartik Shukla Chaturthi, Nhaya-Khaya ritual was performed by eating pure food after taking bath, and the ritual of Karna will be completed on the day Panchami by eating a single meal in the evening.
On Shashti (sixth day), the main day of the festival, women observe fasting and they go to the holy pond and river to offer Argha (holy water) to the setting Sun. This Argha is also known as ‘Sajhuka Arakh’ and ‘Sajhinya-ghat’ in Maithila tradition. It is a tradition that the festival concludes after offering Argha to the rising Sun on Saptami.
Chhath festival of this year will conclude on Monday morning after offering Argha to the rising Sun.
Ganga Sah, resident of Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City Ward no 8, said, “Women of other communities too have started celebrating Chhath with same devotion and sincerity”.
Gangasagar, Dhanushsagar and Aragaja ponds are the most visited sites during Chhath in Janakpurdham. It is estimated that thousands of devotees will offer prayer in these ponds located in the heart of the city.
Similarly, Kanthamani Prasad Jaiswal, Mayor of Garuda Municipality of Rautahat, has distributed puja materials to the women from underprivileged families who cannot afford to celebrate the Chhath festival due to financial constraints.
Meanwhile, preparation for Chhath festival in Biratnagar Metropolitan City is also in its final stage. The metropolis has almost concluded cleaning rivers, ponds and canals, located within the Biratnagar metropolis.
The metropolis has conducted the cleaning of the canal of Sunsari-Morang irrigation project.
Senior Divisional Engineer of the Irrigation Project, Kumar Ghimire
said the clean-up campaign has been successfully completed in coordination with Biratnagar Metropolitan City.
He further said that every day 70 labourers were engaged in the clean-up campaign that lasted for 10 days. Additionally, a machine was also used for three days to clean the canal.
The clean-up campaign was carried out as a routine activity of the project, to facilitate water supply for winter crops.
“In response to the metropolis’ request, we have cleaned the canal stretch extending from Biratnagar-4 Nobel Hospital to Biratnagar-14.”
The metropolis has requested the project to clean the canal considering the inconvenience the devotees can face due to the garbage piled up in the canal.
The devotees have already started preparing special ghats to perform the different rituals associated with Chhath from Friday.
The works like installing tents, tarpaulin, lights and the statue of goddess Chhati Mata are ongoing on the banks of Sunsari-Morang Irrigation Project canal, Singhia River and Keshaliya River.
Devotees will gather in the special ghats prepared on the banks of rivers, canals and ponds on Sunday and Monday and observe the Chhath fasting by offering Argha to the setting and the rising sun
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