BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday reviewed the preparations for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention to be held in the capital city from January 8 to 10 next year.
The state government on the day also performed a ‘Bhumi Pujan’ ceremony at Janata Maidan here to mark beginning of preparations for the three-day event. Majhi said this is for the first time since 2003, when the PBD event started, that the convention is going to be held in Odisha.
Stating that this is a golden opportunity to establish Odisha on the international stage, the chief minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also attached great importance to the event. “For this reason, we should make the event very attractive and faultless to put up a glorious image of Odisha and establish it at the international stage,” he added.
Giving importance on cleanliness of the capital city, the chief minister said it should be of international standard. He directed the officials to conduct a special cleanliness drive in the city to achieve it, and urged people to participate.
Meanwhile, the CMO informed that External Affairs minister S Jaishankar will attend the event on the first day on January 8 while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present on the second day on January 9. President Droupadi Murmu will grace the valedictory session of the event on the last day on January 10.
Plenary sessions will be held in the convention on ‘Unravelling India’s Best Kept Secret’ and ‘Odisha-the Land of Opportunities’. The CMO said about 10 festivals including the Rajarani Music Festival, Mukteswar Dance Festival and International Odissi Dance Festival will be organised during the mega event.
Earlier, principal secretary, Industries Hemant Sharma, IPICOL and IDCO MD Bhupendra Singh Poonia and other senior officials attended the Bhumi Pujan. The 18th edition of the convention themed ‘Diaspora’s Contribution to a Viksit Bharat’ will celebrate the global Indian community’s role in nation-building.
Officials said presence of NRIs from across the globe will further elevate the significance of the grand festival. A dedicated youth edition, to be organised in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, will foster engagement with young leaders of the Indian diaspora during the convention.
“The mega event will showcase Odisha’s rich cultural heritage to the global audience and focus on engaging the youth diaspora to contribute towards creating greater value for India,” Sharma said.
IDCO MD Poonia said all government agencies are working diligently to organise the event on a grand scale.