Patna: Residents will get an opportunity to take part in a 24-day-long fun fiesta and listen to singers like Alka Yagnik, Amit Kumar, Usha Uthup, Sadhna Sargam and others at the state-sponsored Vasant Mela and Vasant Utsav from February 4 to 27 to celebrate spring.

The twin celebrations will be organised at Gandhi Maidan jointly by Sri Krishna Smarak Vikas Samiti, which happens a part of the office of Patna divisional commissioner and art, culture and youth affairs department.

"Vasant Mela will be inaugurated with a musical night where Alka Yagnik will perform on February 4. Vasant Utsav will start on February 16 with a cultural programme in which Kishore Kumar's son, Amit Kumar, will be the main attraction. Both the programmes will end on February 27 with Usha Uthup's performance," Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor said.

The cultural programmes will be organised from 6pm to 9.30pm in the evenings in which singers Kavita Paudwal, Vinod Rathod, Sapna Chaudhary, Lakhbir Singh Lakha, Tulsi Kumar and comedian Ehsaan Qureshi will regale guests. A "Hasya Kavi Sammelan" will also be held on February 21.

Vasant Mela will have varieties of swings, fun games as well as stalls selling handloom, handicraft, automobile, telecom and electronic goods apart from food items and others. As the twin programmes will end close to Holi, Brij Ras group will present a programme on it.

Kishor said the events will also see various competitions related to painting, singing, quiz and dance in which students of various schools can take part after which successful participants will be awarded. Rourkela (Odisha)-based event management company Laxmi enterprises bagged the tender called for the purpose.

Adequate steps are being taken for crowd management as the administration expects people in large numbers to throng the venue. The entire event area will be secured with the help of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Free and paid parking facilities will also be provided for visitors.

Vasant Mela and Vasant Utsav were organised for 12 days in previous years.