Odisha BJP leaders meet Gadkari, Naik; discuss Nabakalebara

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

New Delhi, Aug 11:

Odisha BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, today took up related to the Nabakalebar festival next year with Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Culture and Tourism Minister Shripad Yesso Naik and urged them to provide all necessary support for the festival.

The grand festival, to be held in  July 2015, is expected to witness a massive gathering of 50 lakh devotees.

The senior BJP leaders requested Gadkari to expedite the Bhubaneswar-Puri and Puri-Bhubaneswar via Konark National Highway projects along with the renovation of the old Jagannath Sadak.

They also impressed upon the Ministerthe need to provide multi-purpose parking, shopping complex, restaurants and toilets along these highways. These projects will help the pilgrims commuting to Puri for the festival, besides providing employment opportunities for local people.

The delegation also met Culture & Tourism Minister Shripad Yesso Naik  later in the day and discussed with him various rituals connected with the Nabakalebara festival in the Jagannath Temple. Tthey stressed the issue of development of the culture and tourism sector in the area to make the function a grand success.

Since Nabakalebar ceremony will be celebrated after 19 years, millions of domestic and foreign pilgrims are expected to visit the temple during that period. This will have a good impact on Odisha’s cultural and tourism landscape, the BJD leaders told the Union minister.

Besides the two Union ministers, BJP state unit president KV Singhdeo, senior leaders Bijay Mohapatra, Suresh Pujari, Basant Panda and Biswabhusan Harichandan were in the delegation.