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Bhubaneswar, March 21: The Centre would provide all assistance to the Nabakalebar festival in Puri and take several measures for its global branding and promotion, Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma
said Saturday.
‘‘There would be no dearth of funds for the Nabakalebar festival. We have already sanctioned Rs50 crore after we received a proposal of Rs 52 crore from Orissa government for the festival,’’ said Sharma at a review meeting on the preparation of the festival here.
Launching the ‘‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’’ (PRASAD) scheme which is meant to augment infrastructure at pilgrimage sites across the country, Sharma said, ‘‘It’s a great opportunity for me to release Rs 50 crore for Lord Jagannath’s Nabakelebar fest under the PRASAD scheme. This is the first release of funds out of Rs 500 crore under the scheme,” Sharma told reporters after reviewing preparations for ‘Nabakalebar’ here.
Sharma said the state government had sought `52 crore for the Yatra and the Centre has approved Rs50 crore. “If more funds are required for the event, arrangements will be made through other schemes and programmes,” he said.
