MillenniumPost
Delhi

Cracker-free, illuminated Diwali has many takers in Ggn

Gururgam: With only two days left for Diwali to arrive, a question that looms large in Gurugram is whether residents will come out and burst crackers in large numbers, even as the city is reeling under poisonous levels of air pollution.

For a city that is used to celebrating Diwali by bursting firecrackers almost a week in advance, there has, surprisingly, recently been a paradigm shift of celebrating the festival of lights by actually putting up only lights.

In the last few days, stringent action has been taken up by the district authorities to not allow sale of non-eco-friendly crackers across Gurugram. Moreover, an awareness of how poisonous the air quality really is has resulted in residents taking up alternate ways of celebrations.

These celebrations, however, are by no means less ostentatious. Many residential condominiums, plush corporate offices and glitzy malls have invested large amounts in lighting up their complexes.

Some of the areas where magnificent displays of lighting can be seen are Cyber City, Sohna Road and even Golf Course road.

Even the Civil Lines area – which houses senior district administrators including the Deputy Commissioner, Police Commissioner, as well as chiefs of Municipal Corporation of Gururgram and Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority – is extravagantly lit up.

The most innovative form of lighting can be seen at the Google India headquarters in Gurugram, which has used the colours dark blue, red and yellow – seen in the company's logo – to light up the complex.

Most office complexes in the city had begun lighting up their structures two weeks in advance, turning the city into a major source of attraction

For a city known more for partying hard, Gururgam's residents have also begun hosting a large number of Diwali parties. Karaoke nights have become extremely popular in these parties.

Most food caterers and stage singers have already begun raising their rates, as many of them have been hired for prominent Diwali parties.

Meanwhile, to dissuade child from bursting crackers, most condominiums are also holding special functions within their residential societies.

Not only locals, but even foreign expatriates are participating in these celebrations.

"I think the realisation to not make the air more poisonous should emanate from the citizens. We must do our best to clean the air," said Raman Kapoor, a city resident.

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