The four-day Chhath Puja festival began in Jharsuguda district amidst traditional religious fervour on Friday with thousands of devotees offering ‘Arghya’ to the setting sun on the bank’s of lb River, ponds and various other water bodies.
On Saturday, the second day of Chhath, Kharna is being celebrated; devotees cooked the sweet dish Pias and shared it with relatives and neighbours.
The festival, once limited to Bihar, is fast becoming popular in Jharsuguda, Brajrajnagar, Belpahar and Bandhbahal in the district due to the large scale migration of workers from Bihar due to coal mining activities and industries.
The festival of Chhath is celebrated not just by the migrant families but also Chhattisgarhi, Bengali, Rajasthani and few Odia families in the district.
Devotees dressed in traditional attire of cotton sari and accompanied by family members marched barefoot to the river banks and ponds singing devotional songs.
Colourful lights and flower garlands decorated the pathways, as well as, ghats.
The first day of the puja is known as Nahai- Khai, the vrati (devotees) take a bath preferably deep in river Ib and water bodies and bring the holy water to cook Kkaddu-Bhaat Prasad, a religious meal at home, said Jharsuguda Choukipara’s 61-year-old Chhat devotee Sandhya Yadav.
On the occasion, streets, river ghats, ponds and other water bodies have been made spic and span by the Jharsuguda, Brajrajnagar and Belpahar municipal authorities and many volunteer organisations.
The final fast will be broken by the vrati’s consuming ginger and sugar. On the fourth day on Monday the final prayers were offered to the rising sun said Brajrajnagar Chhat Puja Committee president Bimlesh Kumar Singh.
The district police too worked in tandem with the puja committee to ensure peaceful and incident-free festivities.