The ‘Parampara’ Navratri garba event planned at Gopal Farm on Ahmedabad’s S.P. Ring Road will now be held on an open ground after its air-conditioned dome collapsed during preparations on October 9. Organiser and singer Kirtidan Gadhvi announced the venue change in a social media video, saying the event will take place from October 12 to October 20.
The garba programme was originally scheduled to begin on October 11. According to Divya Bhaskar’s report, the dome came down suddenly while workers were carrying out finishing work at the venue. Several workers suffered minor injuries, while no attendees were present at the time of the incident.
Gadhvi said in the video that the dome had been damaged, but the enthusiasm of his team and the audience had not been affected. He announced that the organisers would replace the enclosed structure with an open ground and retain the planned sound and lighting arrangements.
The event had been planned across approximately 900,000 square feet and was designed to accommodate up to 12,000 people at one time. The dome had reportedly been constructed over two months and was described as fully prepared, with lighting and other arrangements already installed when it collapsed.
The timing of the incident has become central to the event’s rescheduling. The collapse occurred two days before the planned start of the garba programme, when workers were still present at the site. The report said the incident could have caused major casualties had it occurred after the event began, when thousands of people were expected to gather.
The shift from an enclosed air-conditioned dome to an open-ground venue changes the physical setting of the programme, but the organiser said the event would continue from the second night of Navratri through Dussehra. The report did not provide details about the cause of the structural failure, any inspection findings, or whether authorities had issued permissions for the revised venue.
The incident also comes as Ahmedabad prepares for a busy Navratri season, with several prominent singers scheduled to perform at venues across the city. Divya Bhaskar reported that Aditya Gadhvi, Divya Chaudhary, Jignesh Kaviraj, Hardik Dave and Ishani Dave are among the performers expected to appear at different events. Details of the revised open-ground arrangements and the next safety-related steps were not specified in the supplied report.
