Diwali melas in twin cities set the festive mood

NOIDA: Residents of the twin cities are high on Diwali melas across residential sectors days before the festival. While multi-storey housing societies such as Eldeco Amantran, Gaur Grandeur, Prateek Laurel, etc are hosting in-house stalls with crackers and lights on display over the weekend and extending to the coming week, RWAs of sectors are also lining up entertainment-filled evenings.
In Sector 51, the RWA has organised a Diwali mela on Saturday and Sunday (October 22 and 23) from noon to 10pm at the community centre with a wide variety of goodies, entertainment and gift items. Commemorating the martyrs of the Uri attack, a stall has been set up for donations. “On behalf of the RWA we are contributing the proceeds of this Diwali mela to our soldiers’ families,” said Anita Joshi, from the Sector 51 RWA.
The Sector 52 community centre will host a cultural evening with performances by singers and dancers of Kalpana Kala Kendra and Kala Sagar Dance Institute on Saturday. “We also have a felicitation programme for senior citizens,” said Amrish Tyagi, president of Sector 52 RWA.
Meanwhile, Greater Noida has opened the doors to the Expo Mart Diwali Bazar featuring exquisite ware from India's leading exporters. Artisans from Moradabad, Rajasthan, Odisha, Noida and Kashmir have have set up over 160 stalls at the fair.
The Diwali fair was inaugurated by Rakesh Kumar, executive director Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts on Friday will go on till Sunday.
Apart from cultural programmes, old Delhi street food is an added attraction along with a line up of firework shows.