MLA, Mayor, three district collectors and senior officers present in the review meeting

Bhubaneswar: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is going to be held here. The state government has made extensive preparations for the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Today, a preparatory meeting was held under the chairmanship of Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr. Krishna Chandra Mohapatra. BMC Commissioners, MLAs, senior officers were present in this meeting. Briefing the media after the meeting, Minister Dr. Mohapatra said that this day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa on 9th January 1915. The tradition of celebrating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was started in 2003 to celebrate this day. The main objective of this event is to involve the overseas Indian community for the development of India. However, since 2015, it is being organized once every two years in a revised format. We are proud that our esteemed Prime Minister has invited the countrymen to visit Odisha during his visits to various international countries. The latest example is the visit to Kuwait where the Hon’ble Prime Minister interacted with a youth from Ganjam and discussed the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya program being organized in Bhubaneswar. This is a golden opportunity to showcase the culture and history of Odisha at the global level. With the joint efforts of all, this can be achieved and our state can be proud of its heritage. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held for three days on January 8, 9, and 10. Earlier Pravasi Bhartiya Divas were celebrated in Indore and Varanasi. Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day and President Draupadi Murmu will attend the closing ceremony. The Home Department and Tourism Department of the Odisha government are fully prepared. All arrangements will be made in the Cuttack, Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark tourist areas. Guests from 140 countries and five thousand to seven thousand returning Indians will participate. Hotel, IB, guest house bookings are going on for guests coming from other countries and overseas Indians. Everyone will know about the culture, tradition and heritage of Odisha. The Tourism Department is making all kinds of arrangements for this. 50 new buses and 5 double-decker buses will be run by the CRUT for the coming and going. Odisha Police has tightened security. A few days ago, DG, we got success in today’s conference. The Minister informed that Bhubaneswar has been completely beautified. At the beginning, Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Smt. Usha Padhi, reviewed the preparations in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khoradha districts and gave detailed information about the various programs taken so far. The meeting held at Kharavela Bhawan was attended by MLA Babu Singh, MLA Sophia Firdos, Mayor Sulochana Das, Commissioner, BMC, Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, VC BDA Tirumala Naik, Director of Tourism, Director of Culture Department, Collectors of Khordha, Puri and Cuttack, and other senior officials.

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