Curtains went up on the fifth edition of the International Kite and Sweet Festival at the Parade Grounds here on Monday.
Inaugurating the festival, Minister for Municipal Adminstration and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao spoke about Hyderabad being a mini-India with its food choices and culture. “India is a country of unity in diversity. Hyderabad is a cosmopolitan city that makes everyone feel home. This festival is a slice of India where people can come and experience the offerings of the whole country in a span of three or four hours,” said Mr. Rao.
Minister of Cinematography, T. Srinivas Yadav, who also visited the festival, said, “Whenever we start something new, there is great demand for it. It helps the economy. The number of visitors keeps going up and this year too, we expect more visitors than last year. An event like this helps Hyderabad’s brand.”
The vast Parade Grounds bore a festive look on Monday evening as families began walking in. Some had boxes of food that they planned to hawk at the stalls while others came just to see the kites flying and to taste the savouries. “We have 500 stalls by people who wanted to show the food items of their regions. Foreign participation in the kite festival is also high as teams from 20 countries have signed up for it,” said Tourism Secretary Burra Venkatesham.
An addition this year is a stall for traditional games where children can try their hand at games including gilli danda .
