Kites festival in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD - Thousands of kite flying enthusiasts including scores of foreigners converged at Ahmedabad to participate in the annual International Kite Festival on Sunday.

This year’s event was the twentieth edition of this famous kite fest, coinciding with the festival of Makar Sankranti that falls on January 14.

It is a festival marking the transition of the Sun over the Tropic of Cancer.

Over the period of time this festival has become a favourite destination for hundreds of kite fliers across the world to display their colourful and different shaped and sized kites as well as the skills of flying them.

This year 120 kite enthusiasts from various parts of India are battling it out to outdo each other, showcasing their skills of flying kites and matching these Indians are 105 kit fliers from USA, England, Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, France and Australia.

Thus the skyline of Ahmedabad is presenting a grand sight of huge attractively designed kites.

“I have attended many other European Kite festivals, but this is completely new experience, as everyone is so friendly and welcoming. It is really lovely to have participated in this kite festival,” said Clara Kuhn, a kite flyer from England.

The Government of Gujarat has been hosting this festival. Through this, the Government hopes to project the State as an ideal destination for tourists as well as investors.

“The tourism industry has got a boost through these kinds of events. Earlier such events attracted around sixty lakh tourists and now the number has risen to over a crore. Our main agenda is the betterment of local kite makers, to promote small industries and generate employment among the common people,” said Kamalesh Patel, Chairman of Gujarat Tourism Corporation.

The International Kite Festival of Ahmedabad is a four-day grand exhibition of kites with different events planned on each day.

It has assumed immense cultural and tourism significance with world-class participation.

The Gujarat government has also confirmed that the efforts to make every event vibrant have resulted in increased participation of foreigners. (ANI)