Aurangabad:
The Uttar Bharatiya Nagrik Manch organised various religious programmes to celebrate the Chhath puja Utsav on Ramlila ground at Bajajnagar on Saturday. Fasting men and women devotees will offer special prayers to the Sun on Sunday.
Every year the devotees from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Oddisa who have settled in the city and Waluj celebrate Chhath with religious fervour and excitement. The four day long chhath puja is celebrated with huge participation of devotees. The preparations begins after the end of Diwali. On the first day, a prasad is prepared after cleaning the household. The devotees consume ‘Kharna’ a traditional dish prepared from jaggery and start their fasting on the second day.
The parents observe a strict fast for the good health of their children. On the third day, the men and women devotees perform the puja by offering 'Arghya' (obeisance) to the Sun by standing in the river or artificial pond. This puja will be performed in an artificial pond on Ramlila ground on Sunday evening. The festival will conclude by offering arghya to the rising Sun. The Uttar Bharatiya Nagrik Manch members RK Singh, Narendra Jadhav, RP Singh, Ram Jaiprakash Singh, Radheshyam Sharma and others appealed to be present for the puja.