Chhath is an unusually demanding festival to support, because the community’s job is not to run an event — it is to make a place safe and dignified for vratis who are fasting, standing in water, before sunrise, often with their families around them. The budget follows from that responsibility rather than from a programme.
What the community is actually paying for
Whether you are arranging a riverbank ghat, a pond, or a constructed tank in the society, the needs are broadly the same.
- Cleaning and preparing the ghat or tank, before and after
- Lighting — the sandhya and usha arghya both happen in the dark
- Changing areas and privacy screens, particularly for women
- Safety — barricading at the water’s edge, and people watching it
- Sound for announcements, and a generator if power is uncertain
- Water, dustbins and cleanup crew
- Medical standby — people are fasting, standing, and often elderly
Safety at the water is not a line item to trim
If there is water and there is a crowd in the dark, then barricades, lighting and people watching the edge are not optional and should never be the thing that gets cut when the collection falls short. Budget them first and let the decoration absorb any shortfall.
Support is not a subscription
Vratis are observing a fast; they should not also be handed a collection sheet. Where a society supports Chhath, the money is usually raised from the wider community and from donors rather than levied on the observing families. Record those donations by donor name, issue receipts, and publish what was spent. Generosity accounted for carefully is generosity that repeats next year.
Coordinate with whoever owns the water
A public ghat has an authority attached to it — municipal, panchayat, or a river body. Find out early who that is, what they require, and what they will provide, so your budget covers the gap rather than duplicating what is already arranged.