Gandhinagar, Sep 16 — Gujarat will light more than 88 lakh lamps at over 18,500 locations on Thursday as part of the 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan' to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 76th birthday, Minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said on Wednesday.
The 'Aashirwad No Divdo' programme will be held across the state on Thursday, with lamps to be lit at 7 p.m. alongside evening aarti at temples.
Bhajan Sandhya, satsang and cultural programmes will begin from 6 p.m., according to details shared by Vaghani.
The state-wide programme is expected to involve a large number of participants at municipal corporation and municipality areas.
In 17 municipal corporations, 17 major city-level programmes have been planned with an expected attendance of 2,76,000 people.
Another 17 programmes, including Bhajan Sandhya, will be organised apart from the main events, with an expected attendance of 4,75,000 people.
Local programmes will also be held at 12,481 locations across 287 wards of the 17 municipal corporations, with an expected attendance of 15,95,000 people.
In municipality areas, 152 major city-level programmes have been planned, with an expected attendance of 5,25,000 people.
A further 5,740 locations will host local programmes, while 152 other programmes, including Bhajan Sandhya, are expected to draw 5,75,000 people.
Overall, the joint arrangements across municipal corporations and municipalities include 169 major programmes, 169 other programmes apart from the main events and 18,508 local programmes.
The programmes will be held at a range of public and community locations, including temples, lakes, rivers, squares, main gates, milk dairies, sites featuring statues of eminent personalities, circles, town halls, gardens and Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs).
The main events will also be attended by senior political leaders at different locations. In Ahmedabad, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will attend the programme at Kankaria Lake.
At Ambaji, Legislative Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary and State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President and MLA Jagdish Vishwakarma will be present.
In Surat, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi will attend the programme at Olpad, while Union Minister C.R. Paatil will be present at Navdi Ovara.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will attend the programme at Hirasar in Rajkot.
In Bhavnagar, Vaghani will attend the programme at Bor Talav, while Minister of State Nimuben Bambhaniya will be present at Karchaliya Para.
Alongside the lamp-lighting programmes, a special public welfare campaign will be conducted during the month to facilitate access to benefits under schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, grain distribution and farmer welfare initiatives, with the stated aim of reaching beneficiaries at the last mile.
Vaghani also appealed to citizens across Gujarat to light a lamp at their homes and participate in the 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan' while reaffirming the resolve of 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047'.