Vizags rings in Deepavali with a bang

Firecrackers lighting up the sky during Deepavali celebrations, on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on Thursday night.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

The festival of lights was a roaring, boisterous occasion in the city like every other year.

Illuminated with festive light arrangements and decked out in festoons, the city looked its vibrant best in the run-up to the festival as residents embarked on tasteful decorations of their homes, offices and commercial establishments. Sweet shops did brisk business, as did jewellery stores and fancy gift shops which saw a steady stream of shoppers through the day.

Dressed in their holiday best, people offered prayers to Goddess Lakshmi and then celebrated Deepavali by bursting firecrackers. Young people busied themselves taking pictures which would later go on their social media accounts. Beach Road witnessed large crowds as revellers thronged the beach to burst crackers. However, few succeeded as police were out in large numbers, requesting people on the beach to leave.

Earlier in the day (Thursday), a large number of people thronged Andhra University Engineering College grounds in Maddilapalem and AS Raja Grounds in MVP Colony to purchase firecrackers. Police had to be deployed to ensure there was no traffic congestion at Maddilapalem

As many as eight fire accidents were reported in Visakhapatnam district on Thursday.

One fire accident occurred at State Bank of India (SBI) at Old Jail Road, allegedly due to a short circuit. In another minor incident, fire erupted in a penthouse at MVP Colony. A fire accident occurred at the JSP party office at Gopalapatnam, and another at a fancy gift shop in Gowri Nagar area of Kurmannapalem.

Similarly, two shops were gutted at Balajiraopeta and Gandhi Agricultural Market in Anakapalle Town during the wee hours of Friday. The fire personnel doused the fires before they could cause much damage.

Mounds of plastic strewn across the AUCE Grounds, where firecracker stalls were set up for Deepavali, in Visakhapatnam on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
V. RAJU

The sanitation wing of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) cleared tonnes of firecracker residue from many colonies in the city. As per the officials, the total quantity of firecracker residue collected will be ascertained by Saturday.