AHMEDABAD/GANDHINAGAR: More than 88 lakh earthen lamps will illuminate over 18,500 locations across Gujarat on Thursday as part of the ‘Aashirvad No Divdo’ programme being organised under the month-long ‘Seva Ane Sankalp Abhiyan’ to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday and commemorate his 25 years of public service.In Ahmedabad, the main event will be held at Kankaria Lakefront, where Union home minister Amit Shah and chief minister Bhupendra Patel will be present. The programme will feature the lighting of 1.25 lakh diyas at the lakefront, while another 76,000 lamps will illuminate the Atal Bridge.Amit Shah, Patel and mayor Hitesh Barot will also participate in the evening aarti at Jagannath Temple along with 1,000 sanitation workers.Providing details on Wednesday, state govt spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said programmes across Gujarat would begin at 6pm with bhajan sandhyas and cultural performances. The diyas will be lit at 7pm, coinciding with temple aartis. He said prayers will be offered for the PM’s long life.At Ambaji, assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary and BJP state president Jagdish Vishwakarma will attend the programme. Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi will be present at Olpad, while Union minister C R Paatil will attend the event at Navdi Ovara in Surat city. Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya will attend the programme at Hirasar in Rajkot.The celebrations will be held at temples, lakes, riverfronts, public squares, city gates, dairy premises, statues of prominent personalities, traffic circles, town halls, gardens and APMCs across the state.In Ahmedabad, 4.8 lakh lamps will be lit across all 48 municipal wards. Blood donation camps will be organised at 10 locations, while free medical camps will be held at 14 sites. A range of social, health, religious and public welfare initiatives have also been planned across the city.Across the state’s 17 municipal corporations, 17 major city-level events are expected to draw around 2.8 lakh people. Another 17 programmes, including bhajan sandhyas, are expected to attract 4.8 lakh participants. In addition, local programmes will be organised at 12,481 locations across 287 wards, with an estimated participation of 16 lakh people.In municipalities, 152 major programmes, 152 additional programmes such as bhajan sandhyas and 5,740 local events have been planned. Across municipal corporation and municipality areas, the combined programme includes 169 major events, 169 additional programmes and 18,508 local-level programmes.Vaghani said the month-long campaign would also focus on taking the benefits of Ayushman Bharat, foodgrain distribution and farmer welfare schemes to the last mile.
