The best way to keep a river bank clean is to refrain from polluting it unnecessarily.

Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) has initiated a smart move at select ghats to minimise pollution caused by immersion of Kali idols.

The JNAC has dug large pits filled with water adjacent to the river where devotees can dispose of Puja paraphernalia instead of making the river dirty. Two such pits have been dug at Subernarekha and Domuhani ghats each and one pit each at Sati ghat and Pandey ghat.

The local civic body has also installed banners to create awareness besides deputing one policeman to guide the devotees.

Jamshedpur witnesses over 400 Kali Pujas that take a toll on Subernarekha and Kharkai post-immersion, making it difficult for civic bodies to clean up the ghat for Chhath in a short span of time.

“This year, we have selected four ghats where a large number immersions take place. The pits and the banners will ensure that the main river stays clean,” JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar said.

There are 20 major ghats in Jamshedpur where devotees offer arghya to the Sun God once in the evening and once at dawn during Chhath.

Meanwhile, chief minister Raghubar Das, who is also the chief patron of Sidhgora-based Surya Mandir Committee, reviewed Chhath preparations at the temple on Thursday.

The Surya Mandir that comprises two artificial reservoirs has been organising Chhath Puja for the last 17 years. It attracts about 30,000 devotees also known as vratis.

Like every year, the Surya Mandir Committee will organise a mega musical concert in the evening of November 13. Singer Suresh Wadekar will be performing this year.

Members of the temple committee said they would distribute coupons for puja items to 1,500 vratis at subsidised rates. The coupons can be collected from the temple premises on November 9 and 10.

“There are many families who do not celebrate or perform rituals because they are costly. We have volunteers who verify the vratis family background and refer them to us for coupons,” Surya Mandir Committee spokesperson Kulwant Singh Bunty said.

Joint inspection

East Singhbhum DC Amit Kumar and SSP Anoop Birtharay on Thursday inspected the Chhath ghats on the banks of Subernarekha and Kharkai and took stock of their cleanliness besides the installation of lights by the civic bodies .