Diwali 2016: Now, enjoy vacation at 'tent city' in Saputara

SURAT: Like Rann Utsav in the desert of Kutch, tourists visiting Gujarat's lone hill station, Saputara, will be able to enjoy their vacation in a 'tent city'.
Dang administration has identified two locations in the middle of Saputara where around 40 tents will be set up to provide accommodation to tourists and students visiting on study tours, who usually do not find place in hotels, guesthouses and lodges during the vacation period.
The tourists visiting Saputara will be able to book their stay at the 'tent city' in Saputara during the upcoming Diwali vacation.
Official sources said two private agencies from Surat and Ahmedabad have been given contracts for setting up spacious tents for the tourists at Saputara. The tents will be offered on rent in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 to a tourist.
Dang collector Mukesh Thakkar told TOI, "Especially, during the vacation period, rush of tourists increases at Saputara. This place has limited hotel room accommodation, and thus the tourists have to spend their nights on footpaths. However, we have planned to set up a tent city in Saputara to accommodate the tourists."
Thakkar said the tent city concept in Saputara is going to be a huge success. In the initial phase, there will be 25 and 15 tents at two locations in Saputara. The administration plans to add more tents as per tourist requirements.
For the first time, Dang administration is celebrating Diwali festival at Saputara to provide a unique experience to the tourists about tribal art and culture.
"Like Rann Utsav, the tent city will be operational for three months during the winter season," said Thakkar.
He said Diwali festival is a new addition to the list of festivals celebrated at Saputara. This time around, the festival will display the character of tribal festival, local Dangi culture and tradition and also a food festival.
"For the tourists, we will have paragliding activity from October 24 to June 2017. Earlier, the paragliding was not a continuous affair. But, now it will be a continuous affair for the tourists," said Thakkar.