Ahmedabad: Kite fest blowin' in the wind

Amdavadis are all set to celebrate the festival of kites on Monday. People were seen making a last-minute purchase of kite, manja and other accessories.

Meanwhile, the city police have continued its crackdown operation on sellers of Chinese manja and Chinese tukkal as they pose a threat to people and arrested 20 persons. Delhi Darwaja, as well as other traditional hubs for buying kites and other accessories for Uttarayan, witnessed a mad rush on Sunday evening as last-minute buyers were seen purchasing kites, firkies (reels) and traditional tukkals.

Rush was also witnessed in vegetable markets as women were cherry-picking vegetables for making 'Undhiyu'. "This year, the market has been crowded. Police had to stop vehicular movement on one side of the stretch between Delhi Darwaja and Shahpur. With Uttarayan falling on Monday, people of holidays of Saturday, Sunday as well as Tuesday (Vasi Uttarayan). So buying has been very encouraging," said Kirit Patel, vice president of Amdavad Vepari Mahajan.

Even as people are gearing up for the unique festival, Ahmedabad city police said on Sunday that it has filed 20 cases seized over 200 reels of Chinese Manja as well as over 50 Chinese Tukkals (sky lanterns).

It has also arrested about 20 persons. Police recovered Rs 16,000 worth of goods from a man in Maninagar area. They seized 48 reels of Chinese manja from him.

Meanwhile, citizens can breathe easy and order 'Undhiyu' as restaurants and eateries have not yet logged of from Zomato and Uber Eats. Narendra Somani, president of Hotel and Restaurants Association – Gujarat (HRA – Gujarat) said that negotiations with representatives of Zomato is still going on and so as of now restaurants have not yet logged off from these portals.

However, the boycott of Swiggy continues. HRA-G had earlier said that online food delivery portals have been given time up to January 13, for them to renegotiate contracts or else restaurants will boycott them.