Gujarat govt to organise Prakash Utsav at Statue of Unity
The idea behind organising Prakash Utsav is to give something new to the tourists, at the site, as the influx of people is expected to surge during Diwali, said top sources.
Written by Parimal A Dabhi
Ahmedabad | Updated: October 3, 2025 11:32 AM IST
3 min read
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According to a senior officer, “The festivities have started and during the Diwali holidays, more people are likely to visit the Statue of Unity. So, we have decided to organise a Prakash Utsav during the holidays. The idea is to celebrate the festival of light”. (Express File)
The Gujarat government will be organising Prakash Utsav at Statue of Unity in Narmada district to celebrate the upcoming Diwali festivities, said sources familiar with the development.
The idea behind organising Prakash Utsav is to give something new to the tourists, at the site, as the influx of people is expected to surge during Diwali, said top sources.
According to a senior officer, “The festivities have started. During the Diwali holidays, more people are likely to visit the Statue of Unity. So, we have decided to organise a Prakash Utsav during the holidays. The idea is to celebrate the festival of light”.
The senior officer added: “We also thought about organising such an event this time because the celebrations will coincide with several important occasions such as Diwali, National Unity on October 31 and birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda on November 15. Diwali this year is falling on October 18, so we will launch this festival a few days before that. The event will be celebrated for around a month.”
SoU is located in the tribal-dominated area of Narmada district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrates the National Unity Day on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at SoU every year.
According to the plan, the festival will include decoration of a one-km long stretch with lights. On the sideways, there will be food stalls offering various traditional food items from different states of India, said sources. The stretch will be open to the public till late in the night. The festival will also include cultural programmes.
The officer quoted above said, “It will be a refined and advanced version of Vasant Utsav that we organise at Sanskruti Kunj in Gandhinagar every year to celebrate the arrival of spring. We will see people’s response to the Prakash Utsav this time and accordingly it will be decided if we will continue it in the coming years.”
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In another development, the Sardar Sarovar Dam attained its full reservoir level (FRL) of 138.68 meters on Wednesday. During the occasion, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the dam and worshipped the Narmada water while celebrating the same.
At the FRL, the dam has a total water storage capacity of 9,460 million cubic meters. After its inauguration in 2017, the dam has reached its FRL on six occasions. Before 2025, it reached the FRL in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
In the current year, 302 crore units of electricity have been produced at the dam’s riverbed power house and canal head power house. So far, a total of 6,810 crore units of electricity have been produced, according to an official statement.
The CM was joined by local MPs, MLAs and senior officials including Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi among others.
Parimal A Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing on the state of Gujarat. Leveraging his seniority and access, Dabhi is recognized for his reporting on the complex interplay of law, politics, social justice, and governance within the region.
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Core Authority (Social Justice and Law): Dabhi is a key source for in-depth coverage of caste-based violence, discrimination, and the state's response to social movements, particularly those involving Dalit and OBC communities. His reporting focuses on the societal and legal fallout of these issues:
Caste and Discrimination: He has reported extensively on social boycotts and instances of violence against Dalits (such as the attack on a Dalit wedding party in Patan), the community's demands (like refusing to pick carcasses), and the political responses from leaders like Jignesh Mevani.
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