Bihar celebrates Chhath with full fervour

All roads in the state led to the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Kamla, other smaller rivers, lakes and ponds, as lakhs of people travelled to the water bodies to offer Sandhya Arghya (Evening offerings) on the occasion of Chhath, a festival dedicated to the Sun God.
Devotees dressed in traditional attire of dhoti or sari, and accompanied by family members marched barefoot to the river banks and ponds singing devotional songs in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi languages.
Several families brought along musical instruments and drums with them to give a musical touch on the occasion of the biggest festival of the state.

All the routes leading to the ghats wore a spic and span look as municipal bodies, government officials, police personnel, residents all lent their hands to clean roads, streets and lanes. Colourful lights and flower garlands decorated the pathways, as well as, ghats.
The devotees placed 'prasada' offerings along the river banks and prayed to the Sun, seeking health and prosperity for themselves and their family members.
The prayers ended with oblations of 'Gangajal' to the setting Sun and people celebrated with fireworks to mark the occasion.

Many devotees will spend the night at the river ghats or along the lakes or ponds for the final Chhath rituals at sunrise tomorrow.

The state administration was on its toes throughout the day to facilitate smooth conduct of rituals and avoid any untoward incident like the Chhath stampede in 2012 in which 22 people lost their lives at Adalat Ghat in the state capital, or the Dussehra stampede on October 3 this year, which claimed 33 lives.
Disaster Management Department (DMD) Principal Secretary Vyasji inspected the ghats and other arrangements along the Ganga in Patna and Vaishali districts for the devotees.
Apart from the residents of the state capital, a large number of worshippers come to Patna and Vaishali from neighbouring districts to offer Chhath prayers in the holy river.