'Arpa Mahotsav' will provide a new identity to Gaurela-Marwahi-Pendra, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Wednesday to mark one year since the district was carved out.
The foundation of the ‘Mahotsav’ has been laid in such manner that in coming years it will see an expanded and grander form, he told the concluding ceremony of the event.
Baghel announced that a statue of Dr Bhanwar Singh Porte will be established in the college and school named after him. He also dedicated and laid the foundation stone for different works in the district to the tune of Rs 20 crores.
He said the land of Gaurela-Marwahi-Pendra is sacred. The water which emerges from this land reaches the Ganges, Narmada, Son and Mahanadi. ‘Arpa’ is the first word of the State Song.
“Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore stayed in Pendra for a year and a half for the treatment of his wife,” recalled Baghel.
The Chief Minister said to preserve the memory of Pandit Madhavrao Sapre, a pioneer in journalism, the foundation stone of the Press Club building has been laid in his name. It will be built at a cost of Rs 50 lakhs.