Ranchi Municipal Corporation, busy with coming Diwali clean-up, has turned its attention to the city's lakes in the run-up to next week's Chhath Puja, rituals for which are conducted by devotees standing in water. RMC CEO Amit Kumar has held meeting with officials to clean the city- roads, by lanes and 75 water bodies. 

 Even Deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya has inspected three major water bodies namely, Ranchi Lake (Bada Talab), Argora Talab and Kanke Dam. While Bada Talab needed to be sanitised, the approach road was an issue at Argora Talab. At Kanke Dam, water cabbage had covered the water in the eastern bank. 

As many as 42 water bodies of total 75 within the RMC area will be cleaned up immediately after immersion of Kali idols on coming Monday. "We have engaged around 200 people to clean the water bodies. They will start working from Friday," he said. 

 At Bada Talab, the deputy mayor was disappointed to see puja leftovers scattered along the banks though a special collection area had been created inside the water body, separated with a net, so that puja paraphernalia did not get washed away elsewhere. 

"Public awareness is very important. You see, we requested people not to throw puja samagri (offerings) in the lake.