A three-day festival to mark the first anniversary of the Netaji Janma Mati Jatra, spearheaded by the Utkal Bikash Juba Parisada, got underway at the Netaji Bhawan here on Saturday.
At the event, Parisada president Debiprasad Prusti demanded Rs1,000 crore from the Centre to develop the Netaji Bhawan and its adjacent areas. “In Gujarat, a memorial has been constructed by the Government in the name of Sardar Patel. The Government of India should also come forward for this Rs1,000 crore project as it is a matter of national pride,” said Prusti.
“Due to the persistent efforts and nation-wide campaign of the Netaji Janmamati Jatra team, public pressure was built up and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declassified Netaji’s files while the Prime Minister will declassify files on Netaji Jayanti on January 23,” said Prusti.
The Parisad president also condemned the State Government for keeping the Netaji Bhawan area away from people’s reach. After sunset, no visitor is willing to visit the Netaji museum. The light and sound programme has failed to attract visitors to the museum, he added.
On the occasion, students and youths paid floral tributes to a statue of Netaji at the museum. Besides, a team went to the Netaji School and the Ravenshaw Collegiate School here and garlanded the statues there.