Ahmedabad City to celebrate New Year, long weekend

The joy of Diwali and New Year is here.  Embracing the spirit of the two festivals, members of the business community of the city has set aside economic woes and GST troubles on Thursday. Sweet shops saw people making the last-minute purchase even as fire-cracker sellers did brisk business. Although, across the city retailers complained that overall the business has been down. Diwali and New Year, which falls in the middle of the week, also combined with the weekend has given Amdavadis a long spell of holidays.

The fire department and doctors are also bracing for a surge in emergencies. The Ahmedabad Medical Association and the 108 Emergency Services have made special arrangements to deal with the rise in emergencies. A central helpline number has also been created to quickly reach out to the emergency  team. It should be noted that Ahmedabad is expected to see a surge of 21% in emergencies during the holiday season.

Meanwhile, the police department has put a ban on the sale of Chinese lanterns. The lanterns had been a major cause of fire during the past many years until their ban leads to a drop in a number of such incidents. This year, the fire-related emergencies on account of Chinese lantern will be low.

Meanwhile, some in the city are heading to their villages to celebrate Diwali the traditional way. “I go to my village every year for Diwali. We have garba and community lunch and dinner over all four days. People donate to the cause and it is fun to celebrate it with the entire village,” said Vijay Patel a professional, who is heading to his village in Gandhinagar.