Bihar: No Chaiti Chhath celebrations at Deo temple in Aurangabad

AURANGABAD/PATNA: The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a shadow over Chaiti Chhath as the festival will not be celebrated at the famous Deo Sun temple in Aurangabad. A decision in this regard was taken by the temple’s trust committee and the district administration on Saturday.
District magistrate (DM) Saurabh Jorewal told this newspaper, “Lakhs of devotees from all over Bihar and other states visit the Deo Chaiti Chhath Mela, bathe in the holy ‘Surya Kund’ and offer ‘arghya’.They are likely to get infected by coronavirus. Hence, the fair will not be organized this year and the temple and the ‘kund’ will remain shut.”
This is for the first time that the Chhath Puja is not being celebrated at the Sun temple. Deo’s Up-pramukh Manish Pathak said, “All roads have been blocked to prevent the entry of outsiders.”
Patnaites rue lack of resources: Amid the coronavirus lockdown, many devotees have decided not to celebrate Chaiti Chhath this time. Others will keep it low-key due to the lack of resources.
Danapur resident Rashmi Sinha (42) faced a lot of difficulty while arranging the items necessary for observing Chhath Puja.
“From the time I heard of social distancing, I began gathering all the essential items required for the festival. I, however, did not buy fruits and milk as they do not stay fresh for long. Later, I asked a local shopkeeper to provide me with six litres of milk on the day of ‘kharna’ and he agreed,” she said.
Another devotee, Prabha Shrivastava, claimed that performing the Chhath rituals was easier than making all the arrangements. “We always celebrate Chhath at our native village in Siwan district, but could not go for the first time because of the lockdown,” she rued.
Like Prabha, Sarita Devi (55), a resident of Rajiv Nagar, will not be able to celebrate Chaiti Chhath for the first time in 15 years. She said, “This festival means a lot to me and my family. It is sad that there will be no celebrations this year because of the unavailability of several important items.”