Residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district will get an extra day off on Tuesday as the district administration has declared a local for the Diwali Amavasya Mela. The decision comes amid preparations for the five-day religious fair, which draws large numbers of devotees to the pilgrimage town.
According to reports, District Magistrate (DM) Pulkit Garg issued an order declaring November 10 a holiday across the district. Government offices, schools and colleges will remain closed on Tuesday. Copies of the order have been circulated to all concerned departments, and officials have been warned of action for non-compliance.
The holiday has been announced to facilitate arrangements and activities related to the Diwali Amavasya Mela, the order stated.
Preparations for the annual fair, which is held in , a religious town associated with Lord Ram, have been underway for several days. The five-day annual fair is being organised this year from November 6 to 10. Administrations in both Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are overseeing arrangements on their respective sides of the town, according to reports.
Recently, Satna Collector Dr Satish Kumar S and Superintendent of Police Hansraj Singh visited Chitrakoot to review the preparations. During their inspection, they visited Bharat Ghat, Raghav Prayag Ghat, the pontoon bridge, Utara Bridge, Hanuman Dhara and the fair market area under the Chitrakoot Municipal Council.
The collector also directed officials to conduct a special cleanliness drive at the ghats and surrounding areas. He further asked the municipal council to repaint the railings at Utara Bridge and the ghats to improve their appearance.
Security and crowd management are among the administration’s key priorities. Around 1,000 police personnel have been assigned duties for the fair. In addition, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Home Guards have been deployed to assist with crowd management and emergency rescue operations.
Last week, teachers’ organisations urged the Uttar Pradesh government to declare November 7 (Saturday) and November 10 (Tuesday) public holidays. This year, November 7 is observed as Narak Chaturdashi, while November 10 is celebrated as . The organisations argued that the absence of holidays on these occasions would make it difficult for people to celebrate 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, had written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking public holidays on both days.
They said that keeping November 7 and 10 as working days would create difficulties for teachers, government employees and students wishing to celebrate the festivals with their families. While Narak Chaturdashi was declared a holiday last year, no such announcement had been made this time.
The organisations also pointed out that November 10, falling before , had not been declared a holiday for Govardhan Puja. They argued that keeping schools open on the day would make it difficult for students and their families to celebrate the festival.
