Gujarat Day celebrations to get underway in Surat today

The six-day long celebrations to mark the Gujarat Formation Day are beginning in Surat. During the celebrations, the city will witness various exhibitions, health camps, laser show and inauguration of many projects.

The main programme will be held on May 1, which will be attended by the Governor Kailashpati Mishra, chief minister Narendra Modi and all his cabinet ministers.

While crores of rupees will be spent during these six days, the state government will not be worrying about the expenditure since it has roped in several companies to sponsor different events.

In fact the state government had adopted this strategy earlier too with good effect. While it was Reliance who sponsored the Vibrant Gujarat - Global Investors Meet during Navratri Festival, Essar had sponsored the Patangotsava or the Kite Flying Festival.

This time around, eight corporate houses will sponsor the six big events during the Formation Day celebrations.

These companies include Reliance, Essar and Gujarat Gas among others. Donations to the tune of around Rs 80 lakh have been collected so far to meet the expenses of various programmes sponsored by Reliance, around 45,000 floating lamps will ornate the Tapi river as part of a mahapuja.

Essar is sponsoring the 'Soneri Sandhya Suratni' programme organised at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. Surat Diamond Association is sponsoring the Lok Dayro programme.

Similarly, Gujarat Gas Ltd will sponsor the grant the fireworks show, while Garden Mill will sponsor the Aircraft Show. Surat Weavers Association, The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Sachin Processors House Association have come together to sponsor the Zenon Show.

This is in addition to the lakhs of rupees that Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority spent in the beautification of the city.

District administration believes that the total expenditure will come under Rs 1 crore. "We have collected close to Rs 80 lakh by means of donations so far and the expenditure behind the various programmes is not expected to go beyond this figure," said District Collector Pankaj Joshi.

However, the corporate houses and the sponsors declined to comment on their sponsorship money.