Chhath, one of the biggest festivals for Kanpur's Purvanchal and Bihar families, begins on Friday, 13 November, and only three days remain. Local reports from the past two days show that many of the city's Chhath spots are still not ready, with filth in canals, silt, broken approach roads and missing lights. The Kanpur Municipal Corporation says the work will be finished before the first offering. Here is where things stand and what to check before you head to a ghat.
The dates and timings for Kanpur
According to Hindustan's local report, the festival starts with Nahay-Khay on Friday, 13 November, followed by Kharna on Saturday, 14 November. The main day is Sunday, 15 November, when devotees offer arghya to the setting sun; sunset in Kanpur is at 5:28 pm. The festival ends on Monday, 16 November, with the offering to the rising sun, at about 6:44 am, after which fasting women break their roughly 36-hour waterless fast.
How big is the arrangement
Amar Ujala estimates that around 8 to 8.5 lakh people of Purvanchal and Bihar origin celebrate Chhath in the city. Worship takes place at roughly 50 to 55 spots, including artificial ponds, Ganga banks and canals. Ponds are used in Shastri Nagar, Kamla Nagar Park, JP Park in Vijay Nagar, near Namak Factory and near the Tileshwar temple. Canal and river ghats include Armapur, Panki, CTI, Saket Nagar, Awas Vikas, Nauraiya Khera, Ratanpur, Dabauli, Atal Ghat, Sarsaiya, Maskar, Golaghat, Siddhnath and Ravidaspuram.
What is wrong at the ghats
Amar Ujala's inspection on Tuesday found the CTI canal choked with dirt, and cleaning still incomplete at Panki, Awas Vikas, Kalyanpur, Ravidaspuram and Barra. The road from the Panki Chhath canal towards Awas Vikas-1 has heaps of garbage in places, gravel is scattered on approach paths and several stretches go dark after sunset. The paper also reports that the artificial ponds used for Ganesh idol immersion were not cleaned afterwards, and that mobile toilets have not been arranged along the canals.
Santosh Singh Gahmari, president of the Bhojpuri Mahasabha and the Central Chhath Puja Committee, toured the ghats on Tuesday. He found dirt on the canal and the altars at Ratanpur, and poor cleaning on the road from Vijay Nagar towards Armapur. He has asked the District Magistrate, the Municipal Commissioner and corporation officers to get the ghats cleaned and enough lights installed.
What the corporation has promised
Municipal Commissioner Arpit Upadhyay told Amar Ujala that all zonal officers have been told to finish cleaning and lighting before the festival. Dainik Bhaskar reports that he inspected the Panki-Kalyanpur canal ghat with MLA Surendra Maithani and ordered two high-mast lights each at the Panki and CTI ghats. At CTI he expressed displeasure that the Irrigation Department's work was incomplete and told it to finish immediately. He also checked post-Diwali street cleaning at Halet, Gol Chauraha, Rawatpur, Geeta Nagar, Gurudev, CSJM Marg and Bagiya crossing, found it satisfactory, and said ghats will be inspected regularly until Chhath.
What it means for families
The gap between promise and the ground is the main worry. Devotees reach the water in the dark hours before sunrise and after sunset, so lighting and clean steps matter for safety as well as for the rituals. Families can visit their nearest ghat in daylight on 12 or 13 November, note any problem and report it to the corporation's helpline or the ward office so that it gets fixed before the 15th.
What to watch next
The next checkpoints are the final inspection by the corporation and the Irrigation Department on 13 and 14 November, the installation of the promised high-mast lights at Panki and CTI, and whether canals are filled with clean water for the evening offering on 15 November. Kahaan Kya Hua will update this report if officials announce fresh arrangements. Readers can send ghat photos and complaints to hello@kahaankyahua.com.
Sources: Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan.
