Odisha to kick-start tourist season with two festivals in December

Odisha is preparing to welcome toutrists in December for two major festivals - the Konark Dance Festival and International Sand Art Festival simultaneously from December 1 to 5 will kick-start the festivities. Odisha expects a huge rush of tourists from around the world on the occasion.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 30 November 2015.

The venue of the dance festival will be an exquisite open-air auditorium with the magnificent Sun Temple forming the backdrop. The sand art festival will be held on the beautiful Chandrabhaga beach, located some 2-Km from Konark.
As informed by the Tourism and culture minister,, the dance festival will showcase Odissi, Manipuri, Satriya, Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam and Kathak. Ten highly acclaimed danseuses have confirmed their participation in the event, and the list includes well-known performers such as Jatin Goswami, Vyjayanthi Kashi, Rajashree Shirke and others.
The sand art festival has created a niche among all such contemporary events across the world and there would be five solo artists, each from the US, Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Ghana, along with Indian artists.
There will be 35 kiosks at the festival and 30 of these will be of Indian artists and there will be different themes on each of the five days. The themes will be global warming, heritage, Swachh Bharat, unity in diversity and world peace.
The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) will sponsor the stay of the participants.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Narendra Modi and his Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 145th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his mission of ‘Swachh Bharat’ to 125-crores of Indians.
Incidentally, a Swachh Bharat or a Clean India is the dream of not only the Prime Minister but also of each and every Indian irrespective of whether he lives in high-rise building or in a shanty. Life in India minus its filth is unthinkable because we Indians are addicted to dirty habits like chewing paan (betel leaves) or gutkha (a form of tobacco) and spitting the waste in public places. The most attractive places are the corners of staircases or walls.
To have a Swachh Bharat, it is necessary to take strict action against such people who do not hesitate to deface walls that do not belong to them. No amount of issuing messages through the electronic media can change the prevalent culture that has been acquired over the ages. What is necessary is a sort of penalty – like introducing spot fines would be a possible option. That could be a deterrent.
Another glittering example is the Indian culture of defecating in the open – film actress Vidya Balan is trying her level best to pass on a message of that every household should have toilets for women and girls instead of directing them to go to the fields. Here again, meagre messages would not be enough. Promises have been made by Corporate Houses to get involved in making toilets for women especially in girls’ schools under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. Commitments have reportedly been made by NTPC, TCS, Toyota Kirloskar, Bharti Foundation and Ambuja Cements for construction of toilets. These, if and when translated into reality, would be a great boon.
In this context, it is worthwhile to note that as per the 2011 Census, only 32.70 per cent of rural households had access to toilets. According to a UN report released this year, India continues to have the largest number of people in the world defecating in the open.