Saputara flies high with international kite festival

With 40 kite flyers from 15 countries along with massive local crowd, the 25th International Kite Festival at Saputara in Dangs began on a high note on Tuesday. According to the tourism department, this fest will be one of the prime reasons to boost tourism at the only hill station of the state.

Chairman of Gujarat tourism, Dinesh Dasa, termed the festival as an event where foreigners will get a chance to see Indian culture. “When soft power is a widely discussed topic in the world today, India is at the top. Kite festivals like this, is one such event that presents a vivid picture of India before the world,” said Dasa.

Organised at governor’s hill in Saputara, strong winds delayed the event by more than an hour. Kamlesh Patel, president of Gujarat tourism said that efforts are being made to make tourists visit Saputara round the year.

“Development of the site at the cost of Rs40 crore is on the verge of completion and we will undertake other projects as well. At present, tourists visit Saputara from March till June,” Patel said.
He further said that a para-gliding festival will also be organized at Saputara later in the month. It will be a large scale event where para-gliders from India and other countries will be invited.

Meanwhile, district administration and the tourism department have made hefty arrangements to make this festival a successful one.