The illuminated eastern ghat of Ranchi Lake on Wednesday evening. Telegraph picture

Wednesday’s sunset and Thursday’s sunrise saw thousands of Chhath vratis thronging Ranchi Lake with lamps and soops, orange flames inspired by the spectacle of colours at dusk and dawn.

But, what left residents most pleasantly surprised was how clean and well-lit the lake was. And, as Chhath bid adieu, the question uppermost on people’s minds was how this landmark lake could be maintained 365 days of the year.

The Telegraph on Wednesday carried reports (“All clear on lake’s eastern front” and “Sharp warning on western bank”) on the hits and misses of the lake before Chhath devotees thronged.

By Wednesday evening, volunteers had cleared sharp objects such as shards of glass from the lake’s western parts.

On Wednesday evening, as thousands offered arghya to the sun god, the lake glittered with lights and lamps, mirrored on its clean waters.

It also got its high-mast lights on. Those lights had glowed last on Chhath in 2013.

A water fountain was placed on the lake’s island. Arteries from Main Road — Lake Road and JJ Road — which join near a temple along the lake and stretch to Kishoreganj Chowk, were decorated with flowers, balloons and streamers.

On Thursday morning, once arghya was over, the refrain heard among devotees was: “Iss khoobsoorti ko barkarar rakhi ja sakti hai kya? (Can this beauty of the lake be maintained?)

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, convener of Students’ Federation (Chhath Puja Samiti), which apart from civic guardian Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), played a key role in making the lake Chhath-ready, said: “I’d like to take a delegation to the mayor (Asha Lakra) to request for regular maintenance.”

Their work continued even after the clean-up, he stressed. “We deputed four divers here to avert drowning mishaps. The administration supported us with a boat for vigil.”

Now that festivities are safely over, he said: “This lake’s beauty should last.”

Gopal Kumar (55), resident of Lake Road, agreed. “I and my wife Geeta went up to the reservoir around 10pm on Wednesday and stood there for an hour. We had forgotten how grand Ranchi Lake was. I want this cleanliness and beauty to stay throughout the year.”

Mayor Asha Lakra and RMC CEO Manoj Kumar refused to comment on the beautification or cleanliness of the lake, citing model code of conduct. Convenient excuse?