Navodaya Utsav, poor man's fete

Kolkata, Aug 4 (UNI) The much talked about 'Navodaya Utsav', a festival under Bharat Nirman Programme, today kicked off in Purulia district with a view to involving the poor villgers in various developmental activities of the government.

Inaugurating the fair, State Planning Board member Gourapadi Datta stressed on the need for such fair to empower and uplift the underprivileged and to make them aware of their rights and responsibilties.

This five-day-long fair, christened as Public Information Campaign (PIC), initiated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, would highlight various aspects of schemes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid-day meal, Rural Employement Guarantee Scheme and the Right to Information Act.

About 40 governmental and NGOs participated in the fair.

''Such programmes should be conducted regularly so that we could have an access to several programmes of the government,'' said a local villager.

Another important feature of the fair was the involvement of NABARD and RBI, which tried to solve the financial queries of the villagers and also gave them instant loans.

''Our cultures and dances are losing its entity and the fair has allowed us to revive our traditional dances and cultures. We also got to know several informations regarding our fundamental rights,'' said a participant.

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