Slum children dazzle at Kankaria Carnival

Chief Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC)'s annual extravaganza Kankaria Carnival on Saturday evening. And while he was at it, he also put forth some very interesting views.

Modi said, "Earlier, Kankaria used to be in the news mostly for the wrong reasons, as lots of people used to commit suicide there. At the Kankaria Carnival this year, a majority of the participants are from the slum areas of Ahmedabad. I request Amdavadis to encourage the city's slum kids to achieve great heights in life."

Modi added that last year during the carnival, he had asked AMC officials to include slum kids in it. This year has been different, as the officials have taken the pains to include students from government schools, municipal schools as well as slums. "For slum kids, performing before the who's who of the city is an opportunity," Modi stated.

While addressing those present, Modi remembered late speaker of the Gujarat legislative assembly Ashok Bhatt, and asked AMC officials to name the Jamalpur Bridge after him. Meanwhile, amidst tight security, the carnival saw hundreds of citizens who had gathered to celebrate Christmas. The lake, beautifully decorated with laser lights and others, will be open for visitors till December 31. Entry is free of cost.

City mayor Asit Vora welcomed the CM and the visitors, and said that after the renovated lake was thrown open to visitors, it attracted 90 lakh visitors.

The AMC will also inaugurate the 'Kids City' on December 31, he added.  This year too, the AMC has organised sports like parasailing, bubble ride, etc for visitors' recreation at Kankaria, apart from boating in the lake. The participants at the carnival have prepared 630 types of different rangolis around the lake.