In the eastern banks of the Chadi River, in Chandrapur Municipality-5, Chhath celebrations are going on in full swing. For the festivities, however, three spots are designated for three different communities; one for the people from the Chaudhary caste, one for the Dalit Musahars and one for the Ram community.

Ram Ramita Devi, who was celebrating the festival on the riverbanks on Saturday, said she is “mildly hurt” by this demarcation of celebration areas.

“They (people from the so-called upper-caste) bar us from entering their area of celebration. They even restrict us from bringing mud to prepare makeshift temples,” Ramita Devi said.

However, Jagadish Thakur, another devotee, claimed that no such demarcation on celebration space has been made. But on a recent ground trip, the Post found that the people from separate castes were celebrating the festival in separate spaces.

“This practice has been in place for as long as I can remember,” Ramita Devi told the Post.