City celebrates Chhath Puja

Guwahati: The city celebrated Chhath Puja on Wednesday as hundreds of devotees paid obeisance to the sun. People thronged the ghats at different places of the city and its outskirts and offered their prayers by performing rituals.
“It’s a very special occasion for us. We pray to the sun for our well-being. Chhath Puja is also the occasion when we seek blessings for various things.We will go to the ghat before sunrise and offer our prayers to the sun which is considered to be the giver of energy and life-force. We believe that worshipping the sun will help us cure our diseases,” said Santosh Mahato, a devotee.
The rituals are expected to continue till Thursday morning.
“The district administration is taking all measures to ensure a safe and peaceful Chhath Puja,” said deputy commissioner M Angamuthu. “We request the Puja committees to earmark areas which need proper barricading. Hordes of people will descend on the ghats for their ritual bath in the Brahmaputra. We will coordinate with Inland Water Transport (IWT) personnel to control the crowds,” Angamuthu added.
The district administration earmarked the stretch of the riverbank from Uzanbazar Ghat to Bharalumukh, Chunsali Noonmati, Pandughat, Maligaon railway stadium, Min Bhawan Birubari, Basistha, Narengi, Jyotikuchi, Patharquary, Azara and Sonapur for Chhath devotees.
The district administration has taken steps to prohibit private and country boats from plying along the Brahmaputra during Chhath Puja. “We seek the cooperation of all concerned to ensure a smooth and peaceful celebration,” Angamuthu added.
The district administration requested Puja committees to arrange for sufficient volunteers to regulate the crowd.