Ranchi and Bokaro celebrated Vishwakarma Puja on September 17 with rituals and a fair.
Workers at HEC, Mecon, garages and showrooms worshipped machines and tools.
Railway and electricity offices and the Hatia yard also marked the day.
Bokaro’s Jhopdi Colony fair will run for seven days under police deployment.
Workers prayed for success and prosperity in their work.
Markets in towns such as Khunti and Koderma saw extra footfall in the days before the puja, as workshops and showrooms prepared.
The festival is widely observed in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and several other states, particularly by artisans and industrial workers.
A rain alert had been issued for parts of Jharkhand around the festival, though celebrations went ahead across the state.
The Sri Jagatguru Vishwakarma Temple in Ranchi, said to be a centre of faith since 1930, made special preparations for the day.
Many workplaces traditionally pause work on the day and leave machines idle, treating the break itself as part of the worship of Lord Vishwakarma.
Vishwakarma Puja was observed on September 17, 2026, which is also known as Vishwakarma Jayanti.
Lord Vishwakarma is worshipped as the divine architect and the patron of craftspeople, engineers and industrial workers.
In Ranchi, machines were worshipped at the HEC and Mecon plants, as well as at garages, workshops and vehicle showrooms.
Government departments including the electricity board and the railways, along with the Hatia yard, also held worship ceremonies.
Vehicles and machinery were cleaned before formal worship, and workers prayed for success in their work and for prosperity.
Pandals were set up at various institutions, with deity installations and collective ceremonies.
In Bokaro, a Vishwakarma Puja was organised at Jhopdi Colony in the Marafari police station area, accompanied by a seven-day fair.
Headquarters DSP Pawan Kumar said adequate police force would be deployed during the fair for the safety of devotees.
Vishwakarma Puja celebration, Duliajan, Assam, 2024 (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
