There was excitement and religious fervour in the air as Chhath was celebrated in Jaipur at the ancient Galta Peeth. Thousands of devotees gathered to pay obeisance to the setting Sun. There were long queues and people had to jostle for space to get a turn to pray while the Sun set.
It is estimated that over 15,000 people were present at the Galta Peeth. The Peeth is over 20 km away from the city and so people have reached there with beddings and will be staying there all night for the next round of pooja that will be offered tomorrow morning to the rising Sun.
The water body is a kund that traditionally supplied water from the mountains, but now with water levels going down, the water body is highly polluted and the water level is also very low. Also the heavy crowd is a threat and raises chances of stampede and accidents.
There are five water bodies in Jaipur city limits namely Jal Mahal, Talkatora, Maotha, Sagar and Galta kund. But prayers can be offered only at the water body (kund) at the ancient Galta Peeth.
The other four are under the Government. All are open water bodies, highly polluted with sewer water also flowing into them. They are also dangerous as there are no ghats and thus no security measures. Therefore no permissions are granted for chhath pooja at these water bodies.
Notably, there is a sizeable population of people from Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh living in Jaipur who enthusiastically take part in this pooja.
ABOUT GALTA
Water body is a kund that traditionally supplied water from mountains, but now with water levels going down, the content is highly polluted & water level is also very low. The heavy crowd is a threat and raises chances of stampede and accidents.
OTHER WATER BODIES
There are five water bodies in Jaipur city limits namely, Jal Mahal, Talkatora, Maotha and Sagar and Galta kund. But prayers can be offered only at the water body (kund) at the ancient Galta Peeth.
