Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 22: The famous Nabakalebar festival of the coastal state has been making its presence felt even in the cyberspace. In the last one month there has been a surge in the number of posts related to Nabakalebar on social networking sites like Facebook and micro blogging sites like Twitter. Oriya people living across the globe are now seen sharing photos, news and other items related to the famous historical festival of Orissa, alongside the government authorities, which also chip in to talk about the schemes and programmes related to
the festival.
The state department of tourism is spearheading the campaign online by sharing every bit of minor and major news on the festival through its twitter handle. They often share the links of news published in different newspapers in the state concerning the preparedness for the historic fest. They also talk about the different schemes the state and the central government are undertaking.
It may be recalled that Orissa Post carried a story on March 14, 2015, titled “Mega plan to mark Nabakalebar festival”. It discussed the programmes and schemes, including releases of book, coin, stamp, film, etc. that the governments, both Union and state, were planning for
the occasion.
Tourism secretary, Aravind Padhee, also often visit Twitter to announce administrative decisions relating to the Nabakalebar festival. It seems that updating every day on Twitter is becoming a regular ritual for Padhee. At a recent event, Padhee had said, “Social networking sites have proved (to be) a good bridge for us to meet several people in our state and interact with them. We often get very good suggestions from many of the netizens and we often try to turn the best suggestion into action. Through Twitter I have personally known many people from our state who aim to boost tourism in our state.”
Even the Puri temple administration has their presence on Twitter. The Twitter handle of the temple administration (unverified) also shares news related to the Nabakalebar festival, however, it seldom posts regular updates. Meanwhile, many groups related to tourism, including travel agents, travel bloggers etc. from Orissa keep regularly updating on the festival.
“From the beginning of March, many of my Oriya friends have started sharing news, pictures and other related items on many of the available social networking sites. Many new schemes and news, related to the festival, are popping up now as it is coming closer. Many of my friends have also been sharing the photos of some news, which have been published in some newspapers. Many a time I come across many new things only through these sites; I don’t, sometimes, even find those in major newspapers,” said Rajendra Swain, a student of the Utkal University.