VARANASI: The municipal corporation ordered inspections, repairs and cleaning across the city's festival bathing places at a review held on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, ahead of Dala Chhath and Dev Deepawali. The work covers the Ganga riverfront from Namo Ghat to Samne Ghat, Ramnagar's ghats, built ghats along the Varuna and municipal ponds and kunds used by residents.

For families preparing to visit these places, the practical changes ordered include changing rooms, working lights and sand filled bags at muddy sections. Residents can report remaining municipal problems through the corporation's published toll free number, 1533. Give the name of the ghat, pond or approach lane so the issue can be located.

The review, jointly chaired by Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari and Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal, assigned local responsibility to zonal officers. The instructions are for work to be carried out. They should not be read as confirmation that every bathing place or approach route has already been repaired, cleaned or made ready for festival use.

Inspections extend beyond the main Ganga riverfront

Zonal officers were made nodal officers for their respective areas and told to inspect the festival locations closely. The area specified in the meeting includes Namo Ghat through Samne Ghat, the Ramnagar riverfront, permanent ghats on the Varuna and all kunds and ponds within the municipal area. The review therefore includes neighbourhood worship locations as well as the better known Ganga ghats.

The officers were instructed to have broken sections, debris and dirty areas attended to immediately. That gives residents several specific issues to identify when reporting a problem: a damaged part of the approach, accumulated material at a water body, or an uncleared section of a ghat. The instructions concern both repairs and sanitation, which require different municipal teams.

Changing facilities were another part of the directions. The corporation was told to provide enough changing rooms of suitable quality for worshippers. The lighting department was asked to put illumination in order. These are particularly relevant to households planning a visit with relatives who need privacy or assistance moving through an unfamiliar approach.

At muddy or boggy places, the meeting directed that bags filled with sand be placed to ease movement. The measure was described as a way to help worshippers reach the site. Residents should still check the actual access conditions when making arrangements, rather than assume that an instruction to treat a muddy stretch confirms the condition of every step or river edge.

Officials told to check conditions on foot and by boat

Nagpal directed engineers and health inspectors to keep visiting their areas and monitor the arrangements. Zonal sanitation officers were asked to inspect ghat cleaning through both walking rounds and boat patrols. The review also assigned the veterinary officer responsibility for removing stray animals from the ghats, with capture and penalties directed where the problem was found.

These duties sit alongside the zonal officers' responsibility for individual areas. The corporation's official contact directory lists separate municipal zones, including Adampur, Bhelupur, Dashashwamedh, Kotwali, Varunapar, Rishi Mandavi, Sarnath and Ramnagar. Residents following up a complaint can identify the relevant zone as well as the locality.

  • Ganga locations named: Namo Ghat to Samne Ghat, plus Ramnagar.
  • Other sites included: built Varuna ghats, municipal kunds and ponds.
  • Work ordered: inspections, repairs, cleaning, changing rooms, lighting and treatment of muddy approaches.
  • Municipal complaint number published on the official website: 1533.

What residents should do

When raising an access or cleaning problem, distinguish the bathing place from the route leading to it. A report naming only a broad neighbourhood may leave the damaged step or blocked section unclear. The corporation's official website provides the complaint number and links to its officer directory. The meeting report does not provide a separate public completion certificate for each ghat.

The same review also considered development works. The mayor questioned delays at Sonia Talab and directed completion of beautification at Kakarmatta Talab, the J.P. Mehta athlete playground and lanes associated with Padma award recipients by December 15. That is a development work deadline reported from the meeting, rather than a deadline establishing readiness of Chhath facilities.

Residents arranging journeys can also consult the earlier report on festival bus services. Separate background covers silt and ghat access and the earlier Samne Ghat land clearance. Those reports concern their own dates and events; the November 10 review sets out the new municipal instructions for festival preparations.