Bhagalpur, Feb. 6: Preparations are on to organise Vikramshila Mahotsav at the excavated site of the ancient university at Antichak near Kahalgaon sub-division of Bhagalpur from March 4.

The Bhagalpur district administration is making arrangements for the three-day-long event.

District magistrate, Bhagalpur, Rahul Kumar Singh yesterday held meetings with heads of organising committees at his office to discuss preparations for the fest.

He would visit the site along with a team of officials on February 14 to check the arrangements.

In the meeting it was decided that the district administration will request chief minister Nitish Kumar to inaugurate the event.

The authorities also planned to organise cultural events at the excavated site on March 4 and 5, while seminars would be organised on March 6 at Ganguli Park, Kahalgaon township, and the auditorium of NTPC, Kahalgaon, respectively.

According to additional district magistrate (ADM), Bhagalpur, Saket Kumar, it was decided at the meeting to invite noted cultural artistes, including folk singers, to perform at the festival.

Government and private stalls would be put up on the premises of the university during the mahotsav. The organising committee of the mahotsav would also publish a booklet on the importance of the area.

Archaeological Survey of India would also organise a photography exhibition during the mahotsav.

Pawan Kumar Choudhary, a social worker and an expert on Vikramshila, has welcomed the decision to organise such an event. “The programme would boost the morale of the local masses, who were afraid of the issue of neglect of the ruins,” he said.