In anticipation of the upcoming Navratri festival and the occasion of Ramnavmi, the Yogi Adityanath administration in Uttar Pradesh has planned to conduct Ramayana and Durga Saptshati recitations in each district of the state. The first day of Chaitra Navratri is on March 22 while Ram Navmi will be observed this year on March 30.
The government would provide each district with a sum of Rs 1 lakh for these events, and a letter in this respect has been addressed to the district magistrates and divisional commissioners of every district. According to the reports, throughout Navratri, there will be special activities at all Shaktipeeths and temples located in the state.
Programs will be organized by the government at the district, tehsil, and block levels. The officers, as per the official directive, are expected to have finished all of the preparations by March 21. The officers have been asked to submit the names and addresses of the temples where the events would take place, as well as photos and phone numbers of the administration of the temples.
At the state level, two nodal officials have also been appointed who will aid in the effective execution of these programs. The programs will start on March 22 and conclude on March 30. The government authorities are meanwhile making sure that a large number of women and girls participate in the program.
“A committee head by the district magistrate in each district will select the artists who will perform at the religious and cultural programs. Public representatives will be invited to these events and public participation has to be ensured,” the directive was quoted.
Mukesh Kumar Meshram, the principal secretary of the cultural department, said that similar events had previously taken place in temples. Meshram said the district administrations had been directed to coordinate with the temple committees regarding the arrangements to be made at the temple premises during the nine days of festivities.
Assistant Director (Culture) Rangbharti also said that such events on Chaitra Navratri had been organized in the past too at the divisional-headquarter level and before the Covid-19 pandemic. “This time programs are going to be organized at the district level at a grand scale at several temples,” Rangbharti was quoted, who is the state-level nodal officer for the programs.
Whatever events are planned at the temples, pictures of them will be posted on the Cultural Department’s website.
