Patna: Collectorate Ghat now stretches for 4km and is the biggest ghat in the state capital where devotees can observe Chhath rituals.
Last year, the ghat was just about a kilometre long and people faced a lot of inconvenience, especially because the parking spot was quite far away. This year, the riverbank will be just metres from the parking area.
"Collectorate Ghat has now become the biggest ghat of Patna and it would cater to at least one lakh devotees," Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor said after inspecting the preparation at the ghat on Wednesday. "Earlier, to visit Collectorate Ghat one had to park their vehicle at Gandhi Maidan and then walk for almost 3 to 4 km to reach the river. But this year the arrangement has been made in such a way that devotees don't need to walk too far."
The parking area at Collectorate Ghat can accommodate at least 600 vehicles and has a 50-foot-wide approach road.
Accompanied by Patna district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal and Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BuidCo) managing director Amrendra Kumar Singh, Kishor inspected many ghats, including Bans Ghat, Mahendra Ghat, LCT Ghat and Digha Ghat, on Wednesday.
Two pontoon bridges are coming up at Mahendra Ghat and Kishor ordered them to be readied by October 21.
He also said that work on Chhath ghats must be completed by October 22.