Devotees offered prayers to the Sun God on the last day of the four-day Chhath Puja celebrations in the city as the festival ended peacefully. Thousands of housewives along with their families thronged the riverbanks to pray before the setting Sun for prosperity and happiness of their husbands and family members.
The banks of River Subarnarekha and Kharkai were abuzz with activities as devotees headed towards the ‘ghats’ from Wednesday afternoon.
River banks across the city witnessed a huge crowd as 'chhath vratis' along with their families and friends gathered to offer their second 'arghya' (offering) to the rising sun on the last day of Chhath. From the Domuhani ghat, Sati ghat, Kapali ghat in Sonari and other ghats like Mango, Babudih, Birsanagar, Domuhani, Bagunnagar and Baridih saw huge number of people who came to offer arghya yesterday and today. There are about 20 ghats in the city.
The Surya Mandir in Sidhgora witnessed a crowd of about 30,000 who had come to offer arghya at the artificial reservoir. The patron of the Surya Mandir Committee, chief minister Raghubar Das had ensured all kinds of safety at the ghat.
After the sandhya arghya, the Surya Mandir also witnessed a musical performance by well known playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan. About 10,000 music lovers gathered to witness Chauhan's performance on her popular numbers.
"Chhath is an important part of our culture. We pray the Sun God, the source of energy on earth. Moreover, this is a festival which speaks a lot of about women power," said Das while present at the Surya Mandir in Sidhgora.
Moreover, corporates like Sunil Bhaskaran, vice-president, corporate services, Tata Steel; Ashish Mathur, managing director, Jusco; Tagun Daga, managing director, TCIl; Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato; Amit Kumar, deputy commissioner, East Singhbhum; Anoop T. Mathew, senior superintendent of police and others were present at the concert. Das, Mahato and other guests also offered arghya yesterday.
The Domuhani ghat in Sonari too witnessed 3 lakh devotees while the Subernarekha ghat in Mango witnessed about 1.5 lakh devotees. Other smaller ghats too witnessed a crowd of a minimum of 20,000 devotees. Various social organisations across river banks had put up kiosks for medical help for the devotees. Some social organisations arranged for water and medical help for the devotees and their families too.
Meanwhile, on Sunday worshipers proceed to the riverbank bearing their offerings in baskets held high. Further celebrations took place at nightfall under temporary canopies made from sugar cane stalks where offerings were laid out as a tribute to the god of fire. Before sunrise, worshipers returned to the riverbank to pray to the rising sun; this ritual is considered the focal point of the ceremony of Chhath Puja.