The Yamuna's banks at Sonia Vihar glowed with diyas, rang with sacred melodies, and drew thousands of devotees on the evening of Sunday, November 15, 2026 — as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta waded in to offer the Sandhya Arghya, the sunset water-offering at the heart of Chhath Puja. Posting on X with the hashtag #दिल्ली_में_दिव्य_भव्य_छठ ('Divine and Grand Chhath in Delhi'), the Chief Minister wrote: 'Jai Chhathi Maiya! Offered Sandhya Arghya at Sonia Vihar, where Maa Yamuna's banks shimmered with lights, sacred Chhath melodies and heartfelt devotion.' She added that across 1,400 ghats, Delhi is witnessing Chhath celebrations of 'such divine beauty and grandeur for the very first time.'

Sonia Vihar and the Yamuna's ritual return

Sonia Vihar, a locality in northeast Delhi hugging the Yamuna riverbank, has long served as one of the city's natural gathering points for large religious observances. On the evening of Sandhya Arghya — when fasting devotees stand in the river and offer water to the setting sun — the site was transformed: lamps lined the ghats, loudspeakers carried folk devotional songs, and the river itself, often in the news for its pollution, became the centrepiece of a moment of faith. Chhath Puja, rooted in the traditions of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, dedicates four days of fasting, bathing, and arghya offerings to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya. The festival's footprint in Delhi has grown steadily alongside the city's large migrant population from both states, with successive administrations preparing riverfront sites and providing civic amenities — lighting, sanitation, and crowd management — across the ghats each year.

Scale of this year's Chhath across Delhi's ghats

Gupta's claim of 1,400 ghats and 'first-time' grandeur signals the scale of administrative mobilisation the BJP-led Delhi government has put behind this year's festival. While that specific figure cannot be independently cross-checked against official records, the number reflects the broader political and civic priority both ruling and opposition parties in Delhi have attached to Chhath — a festival whose devotees form a significant slice of the capital's electorate. The next key ritual is the Usha Arghya — the sunrise water-offering that closes the four-day observance. That morning scene on the ghats, with devotees again standing in the river as the sun climbs, will be the final measure of this year's scale and logistical execution. For Rekha Gupta, arriving at Sonia Vihar on the evening of Sandhya Arghya was both an act of personal devotion and a public statement: Delhi, under her watch, is ready to host Chhath at a scale the city has not seen before. The ghats will have the last word.