Millions pray to celebrate Chhath festival

PATNA: Millions of people, mostly women, took a dip in rivers and ponds across Bihar on Saturday and offered prayers to sun to mark the end of the four-day Chhath festival, a Hindu festival dedicated to the sun god.

Devotees ended their 36-hour fast by offering prayers and floating lighted earthen lamps in water bodies.

To mark the occasion, devotees thronged the banks of rivers, ponds and lakes before sunrise and sang traditional songs in groups. At the break of dawn, they offered wheat, milk, sugarcanes, bananas and coconuts to the sun as part of the ritual.

They had also offered prayers to the setting sun Friday. 

Much to the relief of the authorities, the festival passed off peacefully across the state.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad celebrated Chhath festival with his family here Friday.

Lalu's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi observed fast on the occasion. Rabri's Chhath puja celebrations have always been gala affairs every year, attracting attention ever since she became the state's chief minister in 1997.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is said to have prayed to sun god for the development of the state.

The festival, once limited to Bihar, is fast becoming popular across India due to the largescale migration of workers from Bihar.

The festival was widely celebrated in metros like Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Assam, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and even Tamil Nadu.