Haryana govt to organise International Gita Mahotsav from December 2 to 19

Last year due to Covid 19 pandemic, the Haryana government had reduced the International Gita Mahotsav to a mere online show and the celebrations were limited to only a few programmes, such as International Gita Webinar and online Gita Path.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Haryana government has decided to organise the International Gita Mahotsav on a large scale at Kurukshetra from December 2 to 19. This was announced by the Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Mukul Kumar on Monday.

Lakhs of devotees from across the country converge on to the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra during the International Gita Mahotsav to take a dip. (HT File)

Lakhs of devotees from across the country converge on to the Brahma Sarovar, where several rituals, including lighting of diyas and chanting of mantras, are carried out during the Mahotsav.

Last year due to Covid 19 pandemic, the Haryana government had reduced the International Gita Mahotsav to a mere online show and the celebrations were limited to only a few programmes, such as International Gita Webinar and online Gita Path.

According to the deputy commissioner, this year, the Saras Craft Mela will be organised from December 2 to 19 and the religious programmes will be organised from December 9 to 14. Online Gita Quiz will be organised from November 21 to December 8, Gita Marathon will be organised on November 28 and wall and floor painting competition will be organised on November 21 and 22. Gita seminar will be organised on December 10 and slogan chanting will be done by around 55,000 students on December 14, he added.

The information, provided by the Kurukshetra Development Board in a reply of an application filed by a Panipat-based advocate Amit Rathee under the RTI Act, revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party led Haryana government had spent ₹42.16 crores in organising International Gita Mahotsav (IGM) between 2016 to 2019.

The maximum ₹15.20 crores were spent in 2017, followed by ₹11.07 crores in 2018, ₹9.59 crores in 2016 and ₹6.28 core in 2019, revealed the reply.