Five Chhath ghats of the state capital have been put under aerial surveillance using drone cameras for the key two key days of puja starting with Friday evening’s arghya, according to the district administration.

Deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan said drones were being used at Dhurwa Dam, Kanke Dam, Bada Talab, Chadri Talab and Buton Talab. “Besides law and order maintenance, the idea is to also keep a constant tab and intervene when there is over-crowding. All magistrates and officials on Chhath duty have been tasked to ensure that all Covid safety protocols are followed,” he said.

Devotees perform Chhath rituals at Hatania Pond in Ranchi on Friday evening. Picture by Manob Chowdhary

The five water bodies, located in different parts of the city, are the ones that draw maximum crowds every year. Overall, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has notified 76 ghats for Chhath.

While the state government has allowed puja at public water bodies after initially banning it in the wake of Covid-19, authorities in the district administration are worried about maintenance of social distancing and other safety measures.

“Chhath puja this year is being held amid immense challenge. Although we have alerted all Chhath puja samitis, briefed officials about crowd control and law and order management, enforcing Covid safety protocols will be difficult. We hope and expect the public to be responsible,” remarked another official, adding that over 1,000 officials, including policemen and sector and area magistrates, have been deployed across the city.

Devotees organise their offering to the Sun God at Hatania Pond in Ranchi on Friday evening. Picture by Manob Chowdhary

The traffic police have notified a ban on entry of heavy vehicles in the city from 8 am to 10 pm on Friday and 2 am to 10 am on Saturday. As per the notification issued on Thursday night, heavy vehicles bound for Hazaribagh from Pisko More will have to take a diversion from Kathithand, Kathal More and take Ring Road. Similarly, vehicles from Hazaribagh will have to take the same route to reach Piska More for heading towards Gumla and Daltonganj. Vehicles from Jamshedpur will have to take a diversion from Durga Soren Chowk in Namkum to reach Tatisilwai and Dipatoli army camp via Khelgaon to go to Hazaribagh.