Govt will withdraw cases registered against devotees in 2021 for Chhath Puja at Yamuna: Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday said that the government has decided to withdraw the cases registered against Chhath devotees in 2021 for performing Chhath rituals on the banks of Yamuna during the AAP government’s tenure.

Rekha Gupta said her government has decided to withdraw all the cases filed against the devotees under charges of public disobedience for goning to the Yamuna to celebrate Chhath. She made the announcement while briefing the media on the Chhath preparations by the government for the upcoming festivities.

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In 2021, the Chhath Puja celebrations at the Yamuna were prohibited by the administration. However, people had reportedly reached the river banks to perform rituals.

“Just as Delhi made history this Diwali by hosting a spectacular drone show and Deepotsav at Kartavya Path, this year’s Chhath Puja will also be both divine and grand,” Gupta announced.

According to the CM, the city is no longer a mere political capital of the country, but is fast becoming the capital of faith. “The same devotion with which people light diyas on Diwali will now shine on the banks of the Yamuna as they offer prayers to the Sun God,” she stated.

She shared that from Palla village to Kalindi Kunj, 17 major ghats are being developed along the river, each ranging from half a kilometre to one and a half kilometres in length, depending on the local population. Every district and sub-division will have at least one model ghat to make it easier for devotees to perform the rituals.

Meanwhile, Gupta inspected the preparations for the Chhath at Sur Ghat in Wazirabad and the ghats under construction along the Munak Canal from Prembari Bridge to the AYU Block in North Delhi. During the inspection, she was accompanied by Minister Kapil Mishra, MLA Abhay Verma, and senior officials from the departments concerned.