Preparations begin for Nanda Devi festival in Almora, Nainital

PITHORAGARH: Preparations have begun inAlmora and Nainital towns for the traditional annual Nanda Devi festival in September. According to sources, the highly regarded festival in the hill region will be organised from September 18 to 23.

BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 9

Preparations have begun inAlmora and Nainital towns for the traditional annual Nanda Devi festival in September. According to sources, the highly regarded festival in the hill region will be organised from September 18 to 23. The Ram Sevak Sabha, which organises the festival, has constituted 24 committees for the purpose. “These committees include those for statue erection and palanquin movement, besides others that will help in the live telecast of the festival from the venue,” said Mukesh Joshi, former Nagar Palika Parishad chairperson, who is also the chairperson of the Nanda Devi festival organising committee.

Joshi said the the main attraction of the festival: the Nanda Devi palanquin would be taken around the town on September 23. A calendar and a souvenir would also be published on the occasion.

Dinesh Goyal, chairperson of the Nanda Devi festival committee, said in Almora, the festival would be celebrated from September 18 to 23 while the main function—the worship of Goddess Nanda Devi—would take place on September 21. The palanquin of the goddess will be taken around the town for darshan by common people on September 23,” said Goyal at Almora.

Hard to fulfil smart city conditions, says Panwar

Urban Development Minister Pritam Singh Panwar said on Thursday it would be difficult for the state government to develop any city under the smart city project of the Central government. “The parameters of the Central government are such that these can’t be met with the resources and existing laws of urban bodies in the state,” said the minister.

He said over 15 conditions that the state required to fulfil for the smart city project were such that no city from Uttarakhand would qualify. “It shows that the Central government does not want to include cities from poor states under the smart city project, for which it has imposed overwhelming conditions,” Panwar said.

The minister added, “The government is preparing its own plan to develop cities in the state. These cities will have all facilities and modern urban infrastructure. We are identifying potential urban bodies that can be developed as modern cities.”