Gaiety marks Sankranti fete

Visakhapatnam: The festival of harvest was celebrated with gaiety and fervour across the district. Haves and have nots attired in traditional garments danced around bonfire and had a sumptuous authentic meal to the complete the festival mood.

VUDA Children’s Arena here on Sunday turned into a mini-village with Sankranti celebrations which were conducted under the aegis of district administration. Campfire, rangolis, folk dances and traditional recipes marked the celebrations.

District Collector Pravin Kumar and MLC Madhav started the festive celebrations in a traditional manner by lighting the bonfire to mark Bhogi. Women employees of Women and Child Welfare Department danced around the campfire and distributed dishes made on the occasion. Later, MLC Madhav and Pravin Kumar joined the folk dancers and entertained the people.

Speaking on the occasion, chief guest Madhav said that it’s being a harvest festival, it is celebrated on a grand note in villages. Both the State and Central governments are implementing many welfare schemes for the welfare of the people, he pointed out.

MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu lauded District Collector Pravin Kumar for organising the celebrations traditionally depicting village atmosphere. Though he is not a Telugu person, he understood nuances of Telugu culture and organised the celebrations with authenticity. He also added that cultural programs conducted during the celebrations resembles village environment and appreciated whole team who had worked on it.