Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Sunday inaugurated the 7-day long traditional Kharchi Puja Festival here at Chaturdash Devta temple in Old Agartala at Khayerpur.
Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, MLA and also the Chairman of the Kharchi Puja Mela Committee Ratan Chakraborty, MLA Dipak Majumder and others were present in the function.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Dr Saha said that the culture of India is ancient and rich and hence to bring prosperity to the nation, it is required to handover the traditional art and culture of the country’s heritage to the younger and the next generation.
The Chief Minister said that the last day of the festival on July 20 is declared as a public holiday as this year's Kharchi festival and exhibition started on a Sunday holiday. This initiative is for the pilgrims to enjoy the Kharchi Mela in a good manner, he said.
The chief minister said on the occasion that the main theme of this year's Kharchi festival and exhibition is 'green is the future' which is very significant and relevant. Dr Saha mentioned about the planting of 5 lakhs trees in five minutes in Tripura and said that the tradition of being with nature and worshiping nature has come from the King’s rule in Tripura.
In his welcome speech, MLA and Chairman of the Mela Committee Ratan Chakraborty said that Rs 13 crore is sanctioned for the infrastructural development of the Chaturdash Devta Temple like that of the development of the Tripurasundari temple.
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