Crackers out, only lamps this Diwali for Vizag

Visakhapatnam: The idea of avoiding grand Diwali celebrations this year and observing the festival of lights in a simple manner by just lighting oil lamps is gaining ground in the city.

Many small shops in Vizag are putting up boards with messages requesting customers to avoid purchasing and bursting fire crackers and instead plant trees  or donate money to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Many citizens of Vizag, along with Vizag as well as Cyclone Hudhud related pages, are posting images and messages on social media propagating the idea.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had also announced on Saturday that the sale of fire crackers would be prohibited in Vizag. He requested people to observe a simple Diwali this year.

S. Narsimha Murty of MVP Colony, said, “With so much devastation around, I cannot imagine me and my family celebrating Diwali in the usual manner this year. Vizag is slowly getting back to its feet but we are not in a celebratory mood. We will observe this year’s Diwali by just visiting the temple, doing Lakshmi puja, lighting lamps and praying for the fast recovery of Vizag.”

However, it is not just the feeling of empathy or sentiments because of which many citizens of Vizag are planning to say no to fire crackers, but also to avoid fire tragedies. As the entire city is littered with drying tree debris, a stray spark from a fire cracker can cause a huge man-made fire tragedy.

With Vizag losing much of its green cover due to Cyclone Hudhud, some voluntary groups are giving away saplings free in many areas of the city.