Patna: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 50.88 crore for construction of a Bahu Uddeshiya Prakash Kendra and Udyan ( bahu: multi, uddeshiya: purpose, Kendra: centre), christened Prakash Punj (prakash: light, punj: a lot of), for the closing ceremony of 350th Prakash Utsav.

The ministry of culture provided the funds of which the first part, Rs 25.44 crore, reached the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation. The state government has provided a 10-acre plot near Takht Harmandir Sahib in the Patna Sahib area for the purpose. The project entails construction of a theme park, two exhibition halls, auditorium and four commemorative gates in the names of four sons of the Guru - Baba Ajit Singh, Baba Jujhar Singh, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh - among other amenities.

"The Centre released the first trench of the fund for this ambitious project recently on the basis of a detailed project report submitted by us," a tourism official said.

The official said a high-level state government meeting decided to let the building construction department execute the project. The department has started the bidding process for commencing actual construction work. "The project was handed over to the building construction department, as there is a lot of construction work and the department has expertise."

The project has to be executed in 21 months from the date of commencement of groundwork. "The theme park would be one its kind, narrating Guru Gobind Singh's life through various models and plaques," said the official. Special fountains and landscaping would add to the attraction.

The exhibition halls would exhibit paintings and similar things related to the Sikh religion in general and Guru Gobind Singh in particular. The auditorium would be used to organise various programmes in connection with religious functions and other relative activities. A source in the tourism department said the idea of setting up a permanent facility to commemorate the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh was doing the rounds for over a year and after due deliberation, the state government decided to seek central help. "The state government submitted a detailed project report for this purpose to the Centre," the source said. "In August, a letter arrived from the ministry of culture saying the DPR talked about the total cost only and not head-wise cost. Following that details were provided to the Centre after which the requisite fund arrived."