Ahmedabad : Ahmedabad’s sky filled with colorful and giants kites as International Kite Festival got a very good kick start today morning. Governor of Gujarat O.P. Kohli will inaugurated the 30th International Kite Festival at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. On this occassion, Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani graced the occasion as the Chief Guest while Minister of Tourism Ganpatsinh Vasava, Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel and other dignitaries were also present at the inauguration ceremony.
Vaidik Surya Stuti Vandna was done by 200 students of the Bhagvat Vidyapith in inauguration ceremony. Another 2,000 students from municipal schools from across the city, performed Surya Namaskar during the function. Chief Minister Rupani and other dignitaries joined the participants in the kite flying session. This year’s International Kite Festival witnessed the presence of 15 Ambassadors of various countries like Palestine, Libya, Congo, Myanmar, Tunisia, Mali, Zimbabwe, Brunei, Dar-e-salam, Taipei, Rwanda, Malaysia etc., participating in the event. The festival will also be held in Surat, Dwarka, Jetpur, Vadodara, Saputara, Rajkot, Vadodara, Kevadia and Dhorado. Among the participants are 151 kite-fliers who have converged upon Gujarat from 45 different countries from across the world. A total of 105 kite-fliers are from 13 different Indian states and around 545 kite-fliers are from 19 different cities of Gujarat.
This year special kite flying event will be held for the first time at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia on January 8 and in the White Rann on January 11 and 12. A special cultural program will be held from January 6 to 14 between 7:30 to 9 every evening which will prove to be a great attraction for tourists and the citizens. Another special attraction is the theme pavilion on Statue of Unity, Seema-Darshan and the Tourist destinations of Gujarat. Almost 20 food stalls, including two stalls by Chattisgarh under the ‘Ek Bharat Shretha Bharat’ initiative, will dish out various delicacies to cater to the taste buds of the visitors. Around 50 stalls of various traditional handicrafts will also add to the charm of the festival.
