Public holiday declared for Diwali Amavasya Mela in Chitrakoot on Tuesday

Residents of Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh will receive an additional holiday this coming Tuesday. The district administration has declared a local public holiday for the organisation of the Diwali Amavasya Mela. According to a Mint report, District Magistrate (DM) Pulkit Garg has ordered a holiday across the entire district on 10 November. Due to this decision, all government offices, schools, and colleges in the district will remain closed on Tuesday. Copies of this order have been sent to all concerned departments, and officials have also been warned of strict action for failing to comply with the order.

The administration took this decision to facilitate the arrangements and activities of the five-day annual Diwali Amavasya Mela, which will be held from 6 to 10 November. This religious fair is held in Chitrakoot, attracting a large number of devotees. Preparations for this annual fair have been underway for the past few days. As Chitrakoot is a religious city, the administrations of both Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are monitoring arrangements on their respective sides of the city.

Recently, Satna Collector Dr. Satish Kumar S and Superintendent of Police Hansraj Singh visited Chitrakoot to review the preparations. During this inspection, they visited Bharat Ghat, Raghav Prayag Ghat, Pontoon Bridge, Uttara Bridge, Hanuman Dhara, and the fair market area under the Chitrakoot Municipality. The Collector directed tourism department officials to conduct a special cleanliness drive in the ghats and surrounding areas. Furthermore, he instructed the municipality to repaint the railings on the Uttara Bridge and the ghats to improve the city's appearance and keep it attractive for tourists.

Security and crowd management are the primary priorities of the administration. Approximately 1,000 police personnel have been deployed for the fair. Additionally, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Home Guard have also been deployed to assist in crowd management and rescue operations during emergencies to ensure immediate help in the event of any unforeseen incident.

Last week, teachers' organisations had requested the Uttar Pradesh government to declare public holidays on 7 November (Saturday) and 10 November (Tuesday). This year, 7 November is Narak Chaturdashi and 10 November is Govardhan Puja. The organisations argued that since there are no holidays on these occasions, people would face difficulties in celebrating the five-day Diwali festival with their families. Shiv Shankar Singh, State President of the National Educational Federation, Uttar Pradesh (Primary Wing), and its General Secretary Pradeep Tiwari wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding public holidays on both days. They stated that keeping 7 and 10 November as working days could cause difficulties for teachers, government employees, and students in celebrating the festival.

Providing information regarding banking services, the report stated that bank holidays may vary in different cities. According to the RBI calendar, there were holidays on 10 November in cities such as Ahmedabad, Belapur, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Gangtok, Mumbai, and Nagpur, while branches in other cities were generally to remain operational. Internet and mobile banking, UPI, and ATM services remain generally available, but services requiring in-person branch visits will remain closed.

Chitrakoot is a religious city associated with Lord Ram.