Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced a grant of Rs 3 crore for the war memorial being set up by the Haryana Government in Kala Amb, district Panipat, in the memory of Maratha warriors of the third battle of Panipat.
Fadnavis made the announcement during the inaugural ceremony of the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2019 in Faridabad.
On the occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced to develop a special memorial to show the history of bravery of Marathas through the medium of light and sound on four acres area on GT Road, Panipat, so as to bring both these State Maharashtra and host State Haryana more closer in historical and cultural terms.
Manohar Lal also announced to expand the Maratha war memorial site of eight acres located on Kala Amb to 20 acres.
During his address, Fadnavis said that Haryana and Maharashtra have a soil and blood relationship.
More than one lakh brave Marathas of Maharashtra have sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the country in the third battle of Panipat. At present, lakhs of Marathas are living in Haryana, he said.
He said that the Maharashtra Government would give its all possible contribution for stronger cultural ties between both the States.
Fadnavis also expressed gratitude to his Haryana counterpart and Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma for choosing Maharashtra as the ‘theme State’ in the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2019. As a memorial, the replica of the fort of Raigarh, the Capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been set up by the theme State.
Fadnavis also invited the tourists of the country and also of abroad, for tourism in Maharashtra. “We are also going to start Ramayana Festival in Maharashtra”, he added.
Earlier, Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, welcomed the visitors of all the countries in the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2019 and said that since the present Government took over the reins, this is the fifth Surajkund Mela and we are moving forward in realising the dream of Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said that such fests strengthen the unity and integrity of the country. In this Mela, over 31 countries are participating and other countries are also being invited.
Manohar Lal said that the Haryana Government has signed an agreement with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, under which, the artists of Haryana would take forward the cultural heritage of the State in other countries.
He said that in the Krishna Circuit, we have joined 48 Kos areas near Kurukshetra. Apart from this, Mahendergarh Fort and Madhogarh Fort have also been linked to the Krishna Circuit.
“Even today, the youth of Haryana have great feeling of patriotism and whenever recruitment is conducted for Army, the youth come forward in a large numbers. Despite the two per cent representation in the country's population and 1.6 per cent in geographical representation, there is 10 per cent representation of Haryana in the Indian Army,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Haryana Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that the Surajkund Mela is being made the centre of attraction across the world.
“Last year, 25 countries had participated, 600 stalls were installed and 16 lakh visitors had visited. This year, 31 countries are participating and the number of stalls has also been increased to over 1,400. He has made available 10 acres land adjoining Surajkund for parking, by freeing it from encroachment,” Sharma said.