Minister of State for Education, Technical Education, Culture, Tourism, Horticulture, Floriculture and Parks, Priya Sethi today laid stress on ensuring adequate representation of the rich and diverse cultural heritage in the upcoming Jammu Mahotsav-2017.The Minster was speaking at the meeting convened to discuss the arrangements for Jammu Mahotsav-2017 scheduled to be held from April 13 to April 16.Director Information Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Director Tourism Sushma Chauhan, Secretary Academy of Art Culture and Languages, Director Floriculture, Director Archives, Director Fisheries, Secretary Kala Kendra, Principal IMFA besides officers from various other departments were present in the meeting.The Jammu Mahotsav is aimed at ‘Celebration of Diversity’ that gives Jammu its identity and will showcase rich culture, heritage and traditions of the region in the form of music, dance, drama, arts and crafts, heritage walks besides other activities.
The Minister asked all the departments to work in close coordination with the Tourism Department and directed them to ensure maximum participation to make this festival grand success.The Minister was apprised that besides the festivities planned for Bagh-e-Bahu, a cultural festival will also be organized at Kala Kendra which will feature films, cuisine and arts from all regional identities including Dogri, Gojri, Pahari, Punjabi and Kashmiri.Director Information informed the Minister that the department will be organizing an Art-exhibition at Kala-Kendra during the span of the event wherein the artists will showcase their creations through photography and paintings.Besides, a Special Children Film Festival will also be held by the Information department throughout the three day festivities to educate school children about the region’s culture and heritage, he said adding that cultural wing of the department will be at forefront, leading the celebrations with their cultural performances.
Additionally, films in regional languages will also be showcased.Elaborating on the publicity plan designed for Jammu Mahotsav- 2017, Dr Shahid Iqbal apprised the Minister that a special teaser for the event has been prepared which will be circulated pan India inviting people to join the festivities. Along with this, advertisements in national media will be circulated to increase visibility of the festival and ensure maximum participation, he added.It was further informed that special Pop-up Cultural performances for promotion and publicity of the event will also be organized at places like Railway Stations, Raghunath Mandir with large tourist inflow to give the visitors a taste of what Jammu has to offer and encourage tourist movement towards the festival.