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Festivals
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday greeted citizens on Chhath Puja and said the festival gives the message of unity, cooperation and collective participation in the society. During Chhath Puja, devotees worship and offer 'arghya' to the Sun, she said in a message. "On this festival, we express our gratitude to nature. We worship the rivers and ponds, and pray for the well-being of our families. This festival also conveys a message of cleanliness and environment conservation," the President said. Chhath Puja also gives the message of unity, cooperation and collective participation in the society, Murmu said. "On this sacred occasion, I pray for happiness and prosperity of all citizens," she said, and extended wishes to all her fellow citizens. Chhath Puja, a four-day festival dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya, is being celebrated and it will conclude on October 28.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended greetings on the occasion of Chhath, a four-day festival to worship the Sun god celebrated across the country, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern UP. "With the sacred ritual of 'Nahay-Khay', the four-day grand festival of Chhath begins today. I extend my heartfelt wishes to devotees across Bihar and the entire nation. My respect and salute to all those observing the fast," the prime minister said in a post on X. He also shared a song by noted singer Sharda Sinha, whose soulful renditions add to the festival fervour. Modi said he was in Begusarai on Friday, a place with which Sinha shared a soulful connection. "This magnificent festival of our culture symbolises simplicity and restraint, whose sanctity and adherence to rules are unparalleled. The sights at the Chhath ghats on this auspicious occasion inspire wonderful familial and social harmony. The ancient tradition of Chhath has had a profound impact on our society," Modi
The Railway Ministry has released a list of 12,011 train trips scheduled between October 1 and November 30, 2025, suggesting that an average 196 special trains are operating daily from various destinations in the country to cater to the heavy festive rush. The highest number of special trains operated so far on a single day was around 280 on October 18, while the lowest was approximately 166 on October 8. Officials said that the ministry worked day and night for months with all the zones and divisions to identify and utilise all available coaches to ensure that passengers could reach their destinations in time to celebrate festivals. Almost all the coaches, including those sent for repair, were retrieved ensuring their fitness from all 70 railway divisions across the country to facilitate 12,011 trips based on passenger movements, a railway official said. However, a section of officials and railway activists claimed that the list includes not only some short-distance local trains b
The Central Railway has so far operated 705 special trains for Diwali and Chhath, carrying more than 10.6 lakh passengers, a senior official said on Tuesday. Speaking to the media, Central Railway General Manager Vijay Kumar said that the CR plans to operate as many as 1,998 Diwali and Chhath special trains out of the 12,011 special trains scheduled by zonal railways across the country between September 19 and November 30. Of the 1,998 trains, the highest number of special services are scheduled from Pune, followed by Mumbai, he said. "The festival special trains are expected to facilitate travel for more than 30 lakh passengers, offering convenient options to states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh," Kumar added. According to Central Railway, over 600 special trains have been notified from Mumbai alone. "More than 100 regular trains and 8 to 10 special trains are being operated from Mumbai daily, the official said. On Tuesday and the following three day
Metro Railway Kolkata will run special night services on the Blue line on October 20 on the occasion of Kali Puja, an official statement said on Friday. While the last train will leave from Dakshineswar station for Sahid Khudiram at 10:51 pm instead of the normal 9:28 pm, the last train from Sahid Khudiram will depart at 11 pm for Dakshineswar instead of 9:33 pm, the Metro Railway said in a statement. On October 20, 144 services (72 services on UP and DN sections each) will be run along the Blue Line (Dakshineswar-Sahid Khudiram) corridor instead of 272 services on other Mondays, but the special services will be run at night to enable thousands of devotees to attend the puja rituals at the two heritage Kali temples at Kalighat and Dakshineswar.
As Delhi gears up for Diwali, city's roads turned into a gridlock on Wednesday with heavy congestion reported from many parts of the city, leaving commuters stuck for hours. Long snarls were reported in central, south, east, northwest, outer and outernorth Delhi, with several stretches witnessing bumper-to-bumper traffic for over half an hour. "The heavy traffic is a result of the festive rush and people returning back to the city for the holidays," a senior police officer said. Several commuters shared pictures of traffic jams on social media platforms. Complaints poured from people stuck for hours as the festive rush combined with office-hour movement brought the capital to a crawl. "Delhi's traffic is unbelievable, I've been stuck on Wazirabad Road for the past 37 minutes!" a netizen posted. "Every road in south Delhi is jammed today. Driving virtually on first gear for an hour now," another wrote. A commuter heading to Gurugram said they had to postpone a meeting three times
India's festive season and upcoming wedding period are projected to generate a turnover exceeding Rs 7 lakh crore, according to trade body Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal (BUVM). BUVM national president Babu Lal Gupta said that the festive season has brought robust momentum to markets across the country, and a turnover of Rs 7.58 lakh crore across various sectors is expected. On Tuesday, the national trade body released a report based on a market survey conducted across the country. "A combination of high consumer sentiment, growing preference for local products and improvements in the GST regime have significantly boosted retail and wholesale trade," he said. Gupta said the positive sentiment is reflected across sectors, ranging from automobiles, real estate, and grocery essentials to jewellery, electronics, traditional decor, apparel and dry fruits. He said domestic manufacturers, particularly small and medium enterprises, are witnessing rising demand, especially in tier-2 and tier
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Friday held a review meeting with officials of airlines to assess their operational and technical performance, and asked them to keep airfares at reasonable levels during the festive season. Representatives of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, Fly91, FlyBig and IndiaOne Air, among others, participated in the meeting. They presented their performance metrics, including action taken reports on security incidents and passenger grievances, according to an official release. During the meeting with the airline representatives that went on for more than five hours, Naidu emphasised that they should strictly adhere to safety protocols. The periodic meeting also came against the backdrop of two incidents involving Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Naidu asked airlines to adopt best practices in passenger convenience and service quality. "Detailed discussions were held with each airline on identifying ...