Hyderabad: Devotees thronged Hussain Sagar lake in Telangana's Hyderabad to perform the Chatth Puja on Wednesday. The ghats were given a facelift by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
In Hyderabad at Hussain Sagar, North Indians especially people from Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, and Odisha are celebrating the Chhath festival. The custom is to offer prayer to the Sun God standing in the pond from sunrise to sunset. At Saaki pond in Patancheru, Sangareddy district devotees were seen offering their puja in the pond. Local MLA Mahipal Reddy also performed Chhath puja.
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He wished north Indian people on the occasion. He told that the officials have made all arrangements for the devotees who came to Saaki pond. People also celebrated Chhath puja at Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal and Chinna Cheruvu in Ramanthapur.
One of the devotees who performed the puja spoke to ETV Bharat and said, "We celebrate Chhath Parv every year. On this day, our families and relatives come to this pond and offer Arghya to Chhathi Maiya. The local MLA Mahipal Reddy is very supportive. He even participates in the puja with us every year. As everyone gathers at one place for this festival we feel quite happy."
Another person from Bihar, Binoj Kumar said, "We celebrate the Chhath festival every year. During this festival our women fast for three days. In some families, men also do fasting. During the fast, they do not even drink water. On this festival, we pray to God to fulfill our wishes."
Chhath is an ancient Hindu Vedic festival more specifically, Bihar, and UP, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Devotees observe fasting without even drinking water during this festival and offer Arghya to Chhathi Maiya and Surya Devta. It is believed that during Chhath, deities fulfill all the wishes of the devotees.