Residents of Harmu Housing Colony, which is home to the capital’s notables including at least two high court judges and several IAS officers, have set up more than 10 temporary ponds within the area to conduct Chhath rituals that have become increasingly arduous to complete at public ghaats because of crowds and inadequate facilities.

Residents have created ponds of several sizes, ranging from 3 feet x 3 feet to over 30 feet x 30 feet. Most of these ponds are anywhere between 3 feet to 6 feet deep. On Monday, many were busy filing these with water after a thorough clean-up.

Dharmendra Singh, son of former Congress leader P.N. Singh, who has created a 5 feet x 10 feet x10 feet pond in front of his house near St Francis School, said such an arrangement was a great help for Chhath vratis of the locality that is under ward 26 of Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC).

“The district administration claims to have done a lot in terms of preparations, but the quality of water (in public areas) is still questionable. Also, the crowd is increasing every year as the festival gains in popularity. Hence, we have dug our own pond to avoid crowds and minimise health hazards,” Dharmendra said, adding that at least 200 people of the neighbourhood would use the pond for Chhath rituals on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sanjay Mishra, who was looking after arrangements at a 20 feet x 20 feet x 6 feet pond at Vidyapati Dalan, agreed.

“Given the level of pollution in the Harmu rivulet, observing Chhath there is out of the question. So we decided to construct a temporary pond exclusively for Chhath. We are conducting rituals like this for the last four years,” he said, adding they ensured that clean water was used to fill the pond so that there are no health complications after the festival.

Local councillor Arun Kumar Jha said the number of temporary ponds at Harmu had gone up to 11 this year.

“Till last year, only five temporary ponds were there in my ward. Now, the number has risen to 11 as far as I know. Once Chhath is over, these temporary ponds are either re-filled with soil or left unused throughout the year. Although people make their own arrangements, I, as the local councillor, ensure there is adequate water supply. I also ensure that the area around the ponds are kept clean,” said Jha.

Municipal Commissioner Manoj Kumar welcomed the idea of Harmu residents.

“People in other wards have dug temporary ponds and have asked us to fill them with water. I have also issued necessary directives to facilitate this. I think 300 to 400 water tankers would be required,” he said, adding that it was a great idea to set up temporary ponds as the number of well-maintained ponds was limited compared to the number of devotees in Ranchi.

The illuminated Surya Mandir at Sidhgora in Jamshedpur. Bhola Prasad