Punjab Government on Wednesday demanded from the Centre to release Rs 100 crore for Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th Parkash Purb celebrations, besides releasing immediately Rs 2,145 crore for Sultanpur Lodhi and other development works.
The demand was made by the State Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Charanjit Singh Channi during his meeting with the Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Channi, demanding the central assistance, said that the Punjab Government is going to celebrate the 550th parkash purb of Guru Nanak Dev on a grand scale with full religious fervour. “The celebrations would see ‘Nanak Naam Leva Sangat’ from all corners of the globe, and the Punjab Government solicits wholehearted cooperation from the Union Government with regard to these celebrations,” he said.
“I have also appealed to the Union Minister to immediately release Rs 2145 crore (as per a proposal sent by the Punjab Government) for the sacred city of Sultanpur Lodhi and other development projects,” said Channi who also took up the issue of expediting the release of Central Assistance under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.
Channi said that the meeting also saw various other issues such as facilitating national and international tourists with web application and Twitter based one stop service providing center by the Union Government .
initiating a mechanism for grievances redressal, directions in the States and the UTs for Bed and Breakfast or Home Stay, Swadesh Darshan, and PRASAD scheme besides encouraging tourism through social media, being taken up.