PMC commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pal inspects Guru Govind Singh Ghat in Patna City on Friday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Oct. 21: In a bid to ensure that the Ganga ghats are clean ahead of Chhath, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pal inspected over 10 of them today.

Along with other officials, Pal inspected Guru Gobind Singh Ghat, Gai Ghat, Kacchi Ghat, Khirki Ghat, Gandhi Ghat, Bankipore Ghat, Collectorate Ghat, Law College Ghat, Anta Ghat and Mirchai Ghat.

After inspecting the banks, Pal instructed the PMC officials to make proper arrangements before the Chhath festival.

“The clean-up drive at the ghats is in full swing. We are trying our best to provide spick and span ghats to the Chhath devotees. In the past three days, garbage has been lifted from several areas,” Pal told The Telegraph, adding that the roads approaching the ghats would also be cleaned.

The commissioner said: “From today, at least three to four senior officers will be there to oversee the cleaning process at each ghat. From tomorrow, we will start barricading the ghats with bamboos to avoid a stampede-like situation during the festival days.”

He said at several ghats, where the water has become dirty, can cause health complications for the Chhath devotees. So separate ponds will be dug up, to make clean water available to them.

Pal was confident that the work to clean the ghats would be complete before the festival.

“We are also working to work on the streetlights. We want to make all of them functional before the festival begins,” Pal said.

District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “The PMC officials are busy cleaning the ghats. Even the payment issues have been sorted out and the contractors are working seriously to meet the targets.”

He said: “I am going to hold a meeting tomorrow with a few petroleum and telecommunication companies who have agreed to help us. Officers of the district administration have been assigned responsibilities for different ghats. They will be available on the spot from tomorrow.”

Singh added that chief minister Nitish Kumar would also inspect the ghats ahead of the festival.