The Ugratara Temple and (inset) the idol of the goddess. Telegraph pictures

Patna, Feb. 24: This April, a festival, including seminars and discussions on historical and religious significance, would greet the people of Saharsa district.

State tourism department and Saharsa district administration would organise a two-day festival titled Ugratara Cultural Mahotsav at Mahishi block in Saharsa on April 7 and 8. The Saharsa district administration has received Rs 14 lakh for organising the festival.

Saharsa district magistrate Misbah Bari told The Telegraph: “We have received funds of Rs 14 lakh from the tourism department on Thursday for organising the Ugratara Mahotsav. The festival would include seminars, discussions on historical and religious significance of the pilgrimage among other programmes during the day followed by cultural programmes in the evening.”

Earlier, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced about the yearly Ugratara festival on December 12, last year during his visit to Ugratara temple during the fourth phase of his Seva Yatra.

Apart from cultural programmes, intellectuals from different regions of the state would take part in the celebrations.

“The announcement of Ugratara festival has generated a wave of happiness and enthusiasm across Mithilanchal, Kosi region and the plains of Nepal because the importance of the place has been re-created after a gap of eight centuries. Besides promoting tourism and intellectual potential of Mahishi block, the festival will also benefit the common people of this region. We have invited national-level scholars and reputed artists, including Sharda Sinha and Udit Narayan,” Pramil Kumar Mishra, the vice-president of Shri Ugratara Mata Mandir Nyas Samiti, Mahishi, told The Telegraph.

Even the people of the area are upbeat about the festival. “This will be a historic event for Mahishi, as it would definitely promote the highly rich historical, cultural and religious significance of the Ugratara temple and Manadan Dham in several ways,” said Amit Anand, a social activist and resident of Mahishi.

Ugratara temple is located close to the Nepal border in north Bihar, 225km east of the state capital. Considering the tourism potentials of the temple, the state tourism department in the financial year 2007-08 made plans for its development and received Rs 1.86 crore sanctioned as the expected project cost. However, the progress has been slow.

The Telegraph in its issue dated December 8, 2011, reported that even after three years since the commencement of the project, most of the work has not even started or was in the initial stages of construction. But the tourism department has taken some steps following arrival of chief minister Nitish Kumar at Mahishi.