Diwali is Durban8217;s official function

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 19: The Hindu festival of Diwali is to become an official festival in the city of Durban. This development follows a meeting between Hindu organisations and the city authorities on Thursday.

The city, which is now governed by a majority Black city council, contains most of the country8217;s 1.2 million people of Indian origin. Most of these people are Tamil and Hindi speaking Hindus.

Ashwin Trikamjee, chairman of the Hindu Maha sabha, said the idea was to make Durban a city of festivals.