Bhawanipatna in a festive mood

The Statesman, Nov 4, 2008
Statesman News Service

BHAWANIPATNA, Nov. 3: It was twin celebrations for the district. The headquarters town of Bhawanipatna wore a festive look due to observation of the 60th Kalahandi Pratistha Divas and inaugural function of Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura simultaneously on Saturday.
Official records say that Kalahandi, a princely state before independence was merged with the Indian union on 1 January 1948 and was kept with Bolangir district. On 1 November 1949, Kalahandi acquired the status of a district. To commemorate the occasion, Kalahandi Pratistha Divas has since been organised every year. This time, on this occasion a seminar on the topic Pragati Pathe Kalahandi was organised followed by multifarious cultural programmes.
The inaugural function of Kalahandi Utsav was also organised simultaneously with much fanfare. Masals from four corners of the district ~ Thuamul Rampur, Ampani, Belkhandi, Urladani and from Manikeswari temple of Bhawanipatna were brought to the meeting place by volunteers along with Ghumura dance.
The masals will be taken round the district and with it, the panchayat level and block level festival will be organised in different phases. The final Kalahandi Utsav will be organised from 14 January to 17 January in the local Lal Bahadur Sastri stadium. Besides cultural programmes, Krushak Mela, Handloom and Village Industry Mela will be organised, sources informed.