Delhi CM urges people to celebrate Chhath Puja at home

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appealed to the political parties not to indulge in politics over Chhath Puja celebrations that have been banned at public places in the view of rising COVID-19 cases and urged people to celebrate the festival at their home.

Speaking after an all-party meeting to discuss the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, he said that everybody should set aside politics and allegations for a few days as it is time to serve people.

"All parties gave us suggestions and we will look into it. I told all parties in the meet that it is a difficult time for the people of Delhi when COVID cases are rising. It is not the time for politics, there is an entire lifetime for it. We should set aside politics and allegations for a few days. This is the time to serve people," Kejriwal said.

"We want our brothers and sisters to celebrate Chhath Puja very nicely. Please celebrate but if 200 people enter into a pond at a time, and even if just one of them has COVID-19, all of them will contract the infection. This is also the opinion of experts," he added.

The Chief Minister said that COVID-19 may spread on a large scale if the Delhi government allows Chhath Puja celebrations at public places.

"We should celebrate this time at our home. Several governments have also banned the celebrations at the public water body. You can imagine that COVID-19 will be spread on a large scale. So, celebrations are not banned. What is banned is the entering of a large number of people in a pond or river at once. Let's celebrate at home. Chhath Puja is a sacred festival and coronavirus is a big epidemic, don't do politics on it," he said.

However, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that if the Delhi government had taken the right measures to tackle COVID-19 then people would not have had problems celebrating Chhath Puja together.

With 7,486 new cases, the COVID-19 tally in the national capital on Wednesday crossed the five lakh mark. The city recorded 131 fatalities over the last 24 days, the highest number of deaths in a single day, pushing the death toll in the city to 7,943.

The Delhi Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) had ordered that Chhath Puja will not be held at any public place this time due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The DDMC had suggested that people can worship and celebrate the festival in private places.

However, the Delhi government has declared November 20 as a public holiday on account of 'Chhath Puja'.

Chhath is dedicated to the Sun God and is one of the most popular festivals for the people of Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh or Purvanchal. Devotees gather and take a holy dip in rivers, ponds, and other water bodies during the four-day festivities from November 19 to 20.

Chhath puja is mainly observed by the people of Bihar, Jharkhand, and bordering areas in Uttar Pradesh, and it will be celebrated on November 20. This year, the main celebration is on November 20 when devotees will offer 'argha' to Sun God.

( With inputs from ANI )