Kankaria revellers witness spectacle in the sky

Lakhs of spectators and sky diving enthusiasts thronged Kankaria on Wednesday to witness the thrilling adventure in the sky.

They were captivated by the skill of the six experts of the Indian Parachuting Federation (IPF), who jumped off from two flights from a high altitude and landed smoothly in the Kankaria Lake. On Wednesday, around 3.5 lakh citizens visited the carnival.

Skydiving expert and president of IPF, Sanjay Thapar told DNA about the experience of jumping off from such a high altitude.

“I thoroughly enjoyed jumping from a height of 6,000 feet. We all jumped from the flight which was 6,000 feet above the ground and opened our parachutes when we reached a height of 3,000 feet.” The rate of fall was a whopping 176 feet per second initially, which decreased to 10 feet per second after opening the parachute, he added.

Apart from sky diving, Amdavadis were seen in long queues for the sports of para-sailing and the invigorating ride in the helium balloon.

If adventure sports were attracting a lot of citizens, the children’s film festival, toy fair and book fair also drew lot of children and their parents. An official at Kankaria requesting anonymity said that on Wednesday the film festival received a good response and had 3,000 visitors including children and adults. Also, the toy and book fair at Jhulelaal Open air theatre saw thousands a day.