Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 16: The 15-day long Diwali festival today began at Apsra Road market.
Chief guest, Kavinder Gupta, Speaker, J&K Legislative Assembly, accompanied by guest of honour, Priya Sethi, MoS Education, Culture & Information and special guest, Yudhvir Sethi (senior BJP leader), inaugurated the festival, which is being organized by Apsra Road Traders’ Association (ARTA).
While inaugurating the festival, Kavinder Gupta said that the festival which is being organized on the lines of Navratra festival of Katra, will help in flourishing the business of the area and will further promote peace and prosperity in the State.
Priya Sethi, while addressing the gathering, said that their Government is also interested in beautifying the City of Temples through many projects which are in pipeline and will surely help the traders to boost up their trades.
The event, which is aimed at providing Jammuites a joyful festivity while shopping, will feature a host of events every day. The event is being supported by Cultural Wing of Department of Information and Public Relations. The festival opened today with a brilliant performance during which artists depicted the Dogra culture.
While briefing about the festival, Amit Jandyal, president, ARTA, said the 15-day long Diwali festival includes free fast food stalls and free Mehandi stall for ladies. “The biggest and traditional event of the festival will be ‘Crackers Night’ on October 27 for which professional artists have been specially booked from outside the State”, he added.
“With the beginning of the festival, the Apsra Road has emerged as the main business centre of the city as leading national and multinational brands have opened their outlets here”, Ashu Gupta, chairman, ARTA said.
He said that long before the deafening clatter of bursting crackers on Diwali, the city residents are being treated to a cacophony of celebrations with a rock band, which will make people to dance and sway at the Apsra Road market as a run up to the festival of lights.
“This is the eighth time that such an event is being organized in the Apsra Road market and now we have converted it as a routine event as the response of the people was very good in the previous years”, said Anil Kohli, general secretary, ARTA.
CCI president, Rakesh Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, Director Tourism, Sushma Chouhan, DIG Jammu, Ashkoor Wani and Commissioner, JMC, Dr Manmohan Singh, were also present.
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