The Gujarat government has approved ₹2.90 crore to fund nine-day Navratri celebrations at five major pilgrimage sites across the state, expanding what was previously a single-day event into a full festival-length programme, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced on Friday, 10 October 2025. The decision extends Garba programmes across all nine nights of the festival at each of the designated temple venues.

Five Pilgrimage Sites Selected

The celebrations will be held at Ambaji, Bahucharaji, Unai, Modhera, and Unjha — five of Gujarat's most revered Shakti shrines. The specific venues include the Shri Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust, the Unai Mata Temple in Vansda, the Shri Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, the Shri Bahucharaji Mata Temple in Mehsana district, and the Shri Umiya Mataji Temple in Unjha.

Each site draws large numbers of pilgrims during Navratri, making them natural anchors for state-sponsored religious and cultural programming throughout the nine-night festival.

What the ₹2.90 Crore Covers

The sanctioned amount of ₹2.90 crore will fund event organisation, associated logistical expenses, and artists' fees for Garba and Dandiya Raas performances across all five destinations. The existing government resolution had provided for only a one-day Navratri event at these sites.

According to state government officials, Deputy Chief Minister Sanghavi took the decision to extend the duration to nine days in view of the faith and sentiments of devotees. The revision represents a significant scale-up in both ambition and outlay.

Blending Devotion and Folk Culture

The programmes are designed to integrate religious observances with Gujarat's traditional folk culture, offering local residents and pilgrims travelling from across the state a chance to participate in Garba within a devotional temple setting. Navratri, celebrated over nine nights, is marked across Gujarat by worship of the Goddess and community Garba and Dandiya Raas events.

By anchoring the celebrations at prominent temple trusts rather than commercial venues, the initiative seeks to preserve the festival's spiritual character while broadening public participation.

Significance for Pilgrims and the State

Gujarat's Navratri is among the most widely observed festivals in India, drawing pilgrims and tourists to the state in large numbers every year. Major Shakti temples such as Ambaji and Bahucharaji typically record peak footfall during the nine-day period, and the extended government-backed Garba programme is expected to further consolidate these sites as focal points of Navratri observance.

The government's expanded support signals a broader intent to position these five pilgrimage destinations as immersive Navratri experiences, combining worship, folk performance, and community participation across every night of the festival.