Hindu devotees flock to rivers for prayers to the sun god

NEW DELHI — 

Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked to rivers and bodies of h2o crossed India to commune to the prima deity arsenic portion of the Chhath festival this week.

In Noida, connected the outskirts of the superior New Delhi, families gathered astatine the Yamuna river, which is covered with achromatic toxic foam arsenic a effect of pollutants discharged from adjacent industries.

Women successful brightly colored saris waded into the knee-deep h2o flecked with blobs of achromatic foam. Some carried a coconut oregon different fruits arsenic an offering to convey Lord Surya, the deity of the sun, for sustaining beingness connected world arsenic they sought divine blessings.

The Yamuna is considered 1 of India's astir ineffable rivers, and Hindu devotees person continued to usage it contempt warnings astir the toxic foam. A tribunal successful Delhi connected Wednesday forbade worshipers from performing rituals connected the slope of the heavy polluted stream implicit wellness and information concerns, section media reported, yet thousands gathered connected Thursday and Friday astatine the stream banks to immerse themselves successful the stream and drinks it water.

From the fiscal superior Mumbai to Hyderabad successful the southbound and Guwahati successful the east, thousands of men, women and children did the same.

The Chhath festival, celebrated aft the Hindu festival of Diwali, originated successful the country's eastbound states, with ample celebrations successful Bihar and Jharkand, and extends to Nepal. Over the years, it has grown much fashionable crossed India, often introduced arsenic migrants from eastbound states people the festival distant from home.

The rituals, which agelong implicit 4 days, see a beatified dip successful the stream and a play of fasting and abstaining from drinking water. On the past 2 days, devotees basal successful the waters to commune to the prima arsenic it rises and sets, with immoderate families camping retired overnight on the banks.