Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is going to be held in Bhubaneswar. The state government has made extensive preparations for the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
A preparatory meeting was held today under the chairmanship of Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr. Krushna Chandra Mohapatra. MLAs, Mayer and senior officers were present in the meeting.
Informing the media after the meeting, Minister Dr. Mohapatra said that this day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915. The tradition of celebrating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was started in 2003 to celebrate this day. The main purpose of this event is the participation of the overseas Indian community for the development of India. However, since 2015, it is being organized once every two years in a revised format. We are proud that our esteemed Prime Minister has invited the people of the country to visit Odisha during his international visits. The most recent example is the visit to Kuwait where the Hon’ble Prime Minister interacted with a youth from Ganjam and discussed the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya program being organized in Bhubaneswar.
This is a golden opportunity to showcase the culture and history of Odisha at the global level. With the joint efforts of all, this can be achieved and our state can be proud of its heritage., he added. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held for three days on January 8, 9, and 10. Earlier, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas were celebrated in Indore and Varanasi. Home Minister Amit Shah will be present at the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day and President Droupadi Murmu will be present at the closing ceremony, the Minister told.
Home Department and Tourism Department of the Odisha Government are busy with full preparations. All kinds of arrangements will be made in the Cuttack, Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark tourism areas. Guests from 140 countries and five thousand to seven thousand expatriate Indians will join. Hotel, IB, guest house bookings are in progress for guests coming from other countries and overseas Indians. Everyone will know about the culture, traditions and heritage of Odisha. The Tourism Department is making all kinds of arrangements in this regard. 50 new buses and 5 double-decker buses will be run by the CRUT for the coming and going. Odisha Police has tightened security. Bhubaneswar has been completely beautified, the Minister informed.
At the out set Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Smt. Usha Padhi, briefed the preparations in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khoradha districts in this regard and gave detailed information about the various programs taken so far.
The meeting held at Kharavela Bhawan was attended by MLA Babu Singh, MLA Sophia Firdos, Mayor Sulochana Das, Commissioner, BMC, Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, VC BDA Tirumala Naik, Director of Tourism, Director of Culture Department, Collectors of Khordha, Puri and Cuttack, and other senior officials.
