Lucknow, March 24 : For the first time officially, the shelter homes for destitute will celebrate Holi on Monday.

The government shelter home for boys, aged 10-18 years, has prepared a special menu for its 118 inmates on the festival.

'We will have special snacks, including gujiyas, chips and poppadom, for all inmates. There will be a special dinner menu too,' said warden Saurav Pathak in Lucknow.

'The special menu after Holi colours will include 'chholey (chickpeas)' and paneer masala,' he added.

An old age home at Sarojini Nagar funded by the social welfare department, is also set to have Holi celebrations spread over two days.

The chief administrator of the old age home A.V. Bajpai said, 'We partner with institutions and NGOs to bring their students or beneficiaries to spend time with the senior citizens. This way the elderly living in these homes also get to enjoy a familial atmosphere.'

He said, 'On Friday, we had college students come and play Holi with the elderly inmates and on Saturday we had children from Swapna Foundation who celebrated with us. Special sweets for the 114 senior citizens of the old age home were also ordered on the occasion.'

Dhiresh Bahadur, the founder of the Drishti Samajik Sansthan, a shelter home for the specially-abled children, said water sprinklers for the 200 inmates have been ordered. He said children also participate in making gujiyas and snacks for Holi. 'We will also ensure special meals for our students on the festive occasion,' he added.

/IANS