VISHVENDU JAIPURIAR
Hazaribag, Oct 16: With Chhathh round the corner, devotees at the Hazaribag lake have reserved places by scribbling names on the stairs of the lake.
Notably, devotees will offer arghya to the Sun god during the Chhath festival on Oct 30 and 31. People started grabbing space at the Hazaribag lake for this, so that they don’t have to face the rush to find a place for themselves. This practice of reserving plots in such a manner isn’t new.
The town has two such popular spots including Chhath Talab near Indrapuri chowk on the main road and Hazaribag lake which is a cluster of four lakes.
Right from high profile and affluent families to middle class, the first choice of all devotees is Hazaribag lake due to its scenic beauty and cleanliness. As a result, soon after Durga puja, people start capturing the plot of their choice here. Those who have booked the plots will have the right to perform argya there and if anyone wants to take their place, they will have to wait.
Hazaribag municipal corporation has purchased a weed harvester which has cleaned the lake water by removing all kinds of weeds from the lake. Work to clean the banks is undergoing.
A resident of Noora, Manoj Sinha said that scribbling names on the banks and stairs of the lake is now an old practice. No one wants to take risks due to the huge footfall during chhath. I also did so and now am relaxed after booking my space at Lake.
Housewife Poonam Singh of Okni said, “Vratis do 36-hour-long fast and so people try to avoid trouble during arghya. This is the reason behind booking the space at Hazaribag lake.
