Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary Reviews Diwali, Chhath Prep
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
With Diwali, Kali Puja, and Chhath Mahaparv approaching on the calendar, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary convened a high-level review meeting on Friday, November 6, 2026 — using video conferencing from the 'Sankalp' auditorium at Lok Sewak Aawas in Patna to reach officials across the state simultaneously.
The Chief Minister's Office posted that 'aagami Deepawali, Kali Puja evam Chhath Mahaparv ki taiyariyon ki samiksha ki' — that is, a review of preparations for the upcoming Diwali, Kali Puja, and Chhath Mahaparv — was conducted, with necessary directions issued to officials.Why Chhath Sets the Highest Bar for Bihar's Administration
Of the three festivals under review, Chhath Mahaparv demands the most intensive administrative mobilisation. The four-day festival — centred on riverbank rituals offered to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya — draws millions of devotees to ghats along the Ganga, Gandak, and dozens of smaller water bodies across Bihar. Crowd control, ghat preparation, lighting, sanitation, and emergency medical access all require inter-departmental coordination that must begin weeks in advance.
Diwali and Kali Puja, observed simultaneously and largely overlapping in Bihar and eastern India, add their own demands: power supply stability for illuminations, fire-safety readiness, and market-crowd management in urban centres like Patna, Gaya, and Bhagalpur.
Video Conferencing as a Governance Tool
Conducting the review via video conferencing allowed the Chief Minister to loop in district magistrates and senior officials from across Bihar's 38 districts without requiring them to travel to the capital. Bihar administrations have long used pre-festival coordination exercises as a standard instrument — synchronising departments on security deployment, temporary infrastructure at ghats, traffic diversions, and sanitation drives. The video format accelerates the feedback loop between the state's top leadership and ground-level implementers.
Officials are now expected to translate CM Choudhary's directives into on-ground arrangements at every major ghat and market cluster before the festival season peaks.