MCD allocates Rs 40,000 per ward to augment street lighting at Chhath ghats

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has allocated Rs 40,000 per ward to augment street lighting at Chhath ghats, it said in a statement on Friday.

The funds will be allocated to two ghats per ward.

"The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has allocated an amount of Rs 40,000 per ward for augmenting street lighting at Chhath Puja ghats. These funds will be provided to two ghats per ward. The amount will be utilised for strengthening street lighting in and around Chhath ghats," it said in the statement.

The MCD's electrical department will deploy its employees to complete the work at the earliest.

Chhath will be celebrated on October 30 and 31. It involves offering "arghya" to the Sun god by fasting women in knee-deep water. The festival is hugely popular among Purvanchalis -- people belonging to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh -- living in Delhi.

The civic body will also look after the sanitation arrangements at the ghats so that people can celebrate in a neat and clean environment, it said.

The MCD will make arrangements for parking at the ghats to provide relief to the people coming there, it added.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday also directed officials to ensure that the Yamuna was not polluted during the festival.

Tents will be set up at all the ghats and civil defence volunteers deployed at Chhath puja venues to avoid inconvenience to the devotees.

The revenue department is the nodal agency for Chhath puja arrangements in Delhi and all other government and civic agencies are working in close coordination to make Chhath Puja a success, officials said.