Varanasi: With floodwaters receding and space opening up at Assi Ghat, the daily evening Ganga aarti returned to the lower steps on Monday, while police allowed boatmen to take pilgrims to their anchored boats to view the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat.With the IAF’s Air Show-2026 formally scheduled for October 25, the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) has begun finalising a plan to clear the ghat steps of flood-deposited silt, as the steps are set to serve as an audience gallery for the show.A major rise in the Ganga’s water level had taken place in the last fortnight of Aug. After crossing the warning level of 70.26 metres, the river began receding, though the pace of decline was slow. By Tuesday morning, the water level had reached 66.05 metres and the receding trend continued.The drop of more than four metres brought the lower platforms of upstream ghats such as Assi above the floodwaters. However, the platforms where daily Ganga aartis are performed at Dashashwamedh, Lalita and Namo ghats remained inundated. At Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Ganga aarti was still being conducted on the rooftops of neighbouring buildings.Ghat life, however, appeared to be returning to normal on Monday evening, when the Ganga aarti at Assi Ghat was performed on the riverbank at the lower ghat, where the receding floodwaters had left behind a layer of silt. A large crowd attended the ceremony.Police also allowed boatmen to facilitate pilgrims boarding their anchored boats to view the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. ACP Dashashwamedh Atul Anjan Tripathi said on Tuesday that permission had been granted for pilgrims to board boats only if they remained anchored near the ghats. Officials said boatmen had been asked to wait for the river current to weaken before resuming boat operations.Cremation at Manikarnika Ghat was taking place on the upper platform as the lower platforms remained inundated. At Harishchandra Ghat, some space had opened up, with cremations having earlier shifted to the street leading to the ghat when the flood was at its peak.Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari said a meeting of the VMC would be convened on Wednesday to finalise the action plan for a mega cleanliness drive at the ghats. With the date of the proposed IAF Air Show-2026 finalised, he said there was limited time to clear the ghats and their steps, which will serve as viewing areas for the show.Tiwari said that as another spell of rain is expected in the coming week, the drive to remove silt from the ghats would begin after September 27. “In 2025, we had ensured cleaning of all 84 ghats in a week to make them ready for the festival of Chhath. A similar strategy will be adopted again,” he said.
