Vizagites celebrates it quietly

People positively respond to the Chief Minister’s call to avoid crackers. There were no murmurings about missing the festival except the small children at some places who asked their parents to buy crackers as usual.

The city and the Beach Road return to normal overcomig the havoc wrought by Hudhud. People throng the Beach Road bathed in light to celebrate a quiet Deepavali. Photo: K.R. Deepak

It’s a festival of lights sans sound as Vizagites celebrated Deepavali on Thursday.

This is to demonstrate that the city has not lost its verve in spite of the very severe cyclone Hudhud which left a trail of devastation. It seems they were also not in a mood to celebrate the festival in its real sense -- firing crackers and burning ‘mataba’, ‘chinchubuddi’, ‘kakarapuvvottulu’, etc. -- and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s call to avoid crackers make them decide that this year it was only a festival of lights.

People arranged lamps of all kinds at their homes and establishments. The Collectorate building, which also suffered damage, was lit up with serial electric lights for the last two days.

Mr. Naidu, who camped here for several days after Hudhud and appreciably improved the conditions, wanted the people to celebrate the festival so that they did not get demoralised. But he wanted only lamps to be lit and crackers avoided. This was to ensure that the thousands of tons of fallen trees and tree branches, which are kept at many temporary dumping places and on some road margins, do not catch fire by a stray lighted cracker. He also banned sale of crackers.

Harrowing experience

His decision was welcomed by the people who are not really in a mood to celebrate the festival coming very soon after the harrowing Sunday they had experienced and the few days of going without water and power.

There were no murmurings about missing the festival except the small children at some places who asked their parents to buy crackers as usual. Ministers from outside the district who have been camping here for the last many days supervising the relief work allotted to them were surprised to see the people avoiding crackers during the festival.

People participated in their thousands in a candle light rally conducted on the beach road on Wednesday evening, a day ahead of Deepavali to show that they have the resolve to overcome the cyclone and there were many children among them.