In 1956, a dozen families from eastern India settled in Sarojini Nagar, South Delhi, and decided to observe Chhath together — building a makeshift pond in their neighbourhood and conducting the rituals of Nahay-Khay, Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya. Over the decades, migration flows brought thousands from Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh to Delhi in search of work and education, and with them, their cultural traditions. 
By the 1980s the celebration moved from tiny community groups to larger congregations on the banks of the Yamuna River — with major ghats such as Wazirabad, Kalindi Kunj and Ram Ghat seeing tens of thousands of devotees. The festival today encompasses over a thousand ghats across Delhi, with the city administration formally recognizing it by creating “model ghats,” providing lights, tents, cultural programmes in Bhojpuri and Maithili, and improving safety and sanitation.

Chhath’s growth in Delhi is more than religious devotion — it reflects social change, identity formation and urban belonging for the “Purvanchali” community. What began as a private ritual among a handful of families has become a symbolic festival for Delhi itself. It shows how migrants brought their heritage, adapted it to urban spaces, and made it part of the city’s cultural fabric. 
In short: Chhath in Delhi is now a story of continuity and transformation — from Sarojini Nagar flats to broad river-bank vistas on the Yamuna, it highlights how tradition travels, adapts and thrives amid