Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has limited its Diwali illumination programme to seven prominent locations this year, citing the power crisis reported across Gujarat and the need to reduce municipal electricity consumption. Lighting will be operated for a restricted period rather than throughout the night.
The selected locations include the Bhadrakali Temple and six bridges in Ahmedabad. The decision was announced by standing committee chairman Kamleshbhai Patel, who said the civic body had traditionally illuminated bridges over the Sabarmati River, public buildings such as the Town Hall and Tagore Hall, underpasses and traffic circles during the festival.
Patel said limiting the display was appropriate while the state was facing a power crisis. He also pointed to the extensive decorative lighting already installed in the city’s markets, which reduced the need for the municipal corporation to illuminate a larger number of public locations.
The move changes the way Ahmedabad’s civic spaces will be lit during Diwali. Instead of a broad programme covering municipal buildings, crossings and other public infrastructure, the corporation will concentrate its display at the temple and six bridges. The lighting will also be switched on only for a limited duration, although the civic body has not specified the exact operating hours in the information available.
The announcement places municipal electricity use within a wider resource-conservation discussion. While festive lighting is a temporary public service, the corporation’s decision indicates that energy consumption is being considered alongside the visibility and ceremonial role of public illumination. The city’s markets, where private and commercial decorative lighting is already present, will continue to provide much of the festival illumination independently of the reduced civic programme.
The corporation also discussed water conservation measures at the same meeting. Instructions have been issued to the engineering department to check the legality of water connections at vehicle service centres, guest houses, religious accommodation facilities and paying-guest properties that are suspected of using excessive quantities of water. Officials have been told to disconnect unauthorised connections.
A separate issue concerning water tankers used by the gardens department was also raised in the standing committee. A BJP member sought details on the number of tankers supplying water to plants in central verges, their capacity and the frequency of watering. The request followed allegations that much of the gardens department’s work is handled by private agencies without adequate supervision and that officials are primarily involved in approving bills. The supplied report does not establish whether any irregularity has been confirmed.
The immediate municipal decision is to restrict Diwali illumination to the Bhadrakali Temple and six bridges and to operate it for a limited time. The corporation’s next stated steps concern verification of water connections and the submission of tanker-use details before the standing committee.
