The three-day cultural extravaganza ‘Sirpur Mahotsav’ would be held at the globally renowned ancient Buddhist archeological site of Sirpur in Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh from January 16. The ‘Sirpur Mahotsav’ which would be National Dance and Song Festival is being organised by Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB).
In order to ensure proper arrangement at the ancient archaeological site for the conduct of the festival, Collector Umesh Kumar Agrawal visited the venue selected for the conduct of the festival and laxman temple premises.
He directed officials to set up up stalls at the fair for serving Chhattisgarhi cuisine with the help of self-help groups (SHG) members. The Collector also directed to make proper arrangement of lights, toilet, Food Zone and also to establish a Police Control Room at the fair. Agrawal also directed officials to get a huge ‘Rangoli’ work made at the entrance of laxman temple.
He further directed the officials to keep a stall reserved for sanjeevani, handloom and products made by SHGs for sale. Notably, State Tourism Minister Ajay Chandrakar, in August last year had also demanded that the State should be accorded a ‘special category status’ like Jammu and Kashmir and other North-eastern states for development of its tourism industry.
He had raised the demand while attending the conference of State tourism ministers held in New Delhi. In his address at the conference, Chandrakar had requested the Centre to provide assistance for developing ‘Buddhist Tourism Circuit’ in Sirpur. The Minister stated that State Government has been making efforts to achieve recognition for Sirpur as a ‘World Heritage Site.’ Situated on the banks of River Mahanadi, historical significance of Sirpur is dated back to 6th and 7th century.
The place is of great religious importance for Buddhism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The Dalai lama and an envoy of South Korea and Sri lanka had visited Sirpur and appreciated its beauty and historical importance. A number of ancient memorials and ruins has been discovered during excavation on this archaeological site, he had stated.
Chandrakar also advocated that development of tourism industry in Chhattisgarh will help in creating employment opportunities for youth of the State and will save them from influence of Naxals. In this way, expansion of tourism facilities in Chhattisgarh will also help in curbing Naxal-related violence, he said.