To ensure smooth conduct of lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebar festival in July 2015, the State Government on Saturday set up a Nabakalebar Infrastructure Supervision Committee (NISC) headed by Puri MlA and former law Minister Maheswar Mohanty.
While Mohanty would head the committee as its chairman, the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Division, would be its cochairman. The Puri district Collector is the member-secretary of the committee while district-level officers of other departments are the other members.
“The chairman of the committee will be accorded the status of a Cabinet Minister,” a notification issued by the General Administration Department said.
The Nabakalebar is an important festival as the idols of lords Jagannath and Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are to be replaced with new sets of idols. The previous ceremony was held in 1996.
The NISC would supervise and coordinate the various infrastructure projects worth above `1,000 crore relating to the festival, the notification said.
The State Government has sought a special Central assistance of `1,397 crore for the festival, which is expected to witness congregation of over five million pilgrims and tourists at Puri.