Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 27: After launching a logo as part of its efforts to promote the grand Nabakalebar festival, the state government is gearing up to introduce special tour packages for pilgrims for the upcoming mega event.
Sources from the tourism department said the Nabakalebar packages will be available for tourists on special occasions related to the grand events of the Trinity – Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Tourists can avail such packages on special days such as Banajoga Yatra which will be held from March 29 to April 1, Nabajauban Darshan and Rath Yatra from July 16 to July 18, Sandhya Darshan July 25, Bahuda Yatra July 26 and Suna Besha July 27, officials of the Orissa Tourism and Development Corporation (OTDC) said.
The period of the tour packages will vary from one day to four days and is estimated to cost around Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,777 per head.
OTDC officials said detailed packages for the festival will be announced by the tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda and secretary Aravind Padhee Saturday at OTDC Panthanivas in the city.
The state government is expecting a footfall of around 50 lakh devotees for the Nabakalebar festival in July.
While the state government has allocated a special budget of around Rs 95.4 crore for rituals, creation of tourist amenities and more at Puri during the grand event, it has also announced a grant of Rs 5 crore to be distributed across 600 Jagannath temples in the state during this occasion.
The Nabakalebar festival is being held after a gap of 19 years; the last time being in 1996.
Meanwhile, the Centre has decided to complete the ongoing Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway project by June in order to streamline the huge traffic flow to the holy city during the mega
festival.
This was revealed by Union road transport and highways secretary Vijay Chhiber who was reviewing NH projects in the state at a meeting in the Secretariat. Chief Secretary GC Pati and other state government officials were also present at the meeting.
“In our review of NH projects in Orissa, it came to light that in many cases there are problems of forest diversion, shifting of utilities, disbursement of compensation award and land acquisition; the problems have been addressed. One of the major problems regarding cash flow was also resolved,” Chhiber said.
He appreciated the state government’s efforts and said some of the major activities on NH projects would take place in the next five to six months.
Divisional forest officers, field-level revenue officers, executive engineers and executive agencies have been asked to expedite the National Highway Development Projects (NHDPs) proactively, said sources.
Pati directed the chief engineer-NH to submit weekly reports on the progress of the projects.
During the meeting, the state government urged the Union secretary to increase the allocation for repair and maintenance of NHs in the state.
“We have requested the Centre to raise the allocation for maintenance of NHs in state from Rs 13 crore to Rs 70 crore and Chhiber said the proposal will be considered,” works secretary NK Pradhan said.
Available data shows there are 22 national highways in the state stretching over 4,644 km of which 1,912 km is being developed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).