Celebs on guest list - Musical Event in Naxalite hotbed

Deputy commissioner Vandana Dadel holds a meeting with administration officials and event management company on the preparations of the upcoming tourism festival. Picture by Shahnawaz Akhtar

Giridih, Oct. 11: Come December, many well-known Bollywood singers and other artistes would flock to Madhuban to participate in the three-day tourism festival — Shikhar Jee Mahotsav.

The Giridih district administration is leaving no stone unturned to make the event, starting on December 21, a memorable one and has already roped in Calcutta-based event management firm Blue Eyes India.

The administration has a budget of Rs 1.07 crore for the festival.

The deputy commissioner, Vandana Dadel, today held a meeting with Subroto Bhoumik, a representative of the event management company. Bhoumik presented the blueprint of the programme before the officials.

Invitations have already been sent to singers Abhijit, Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Babul Supriyo, Jagjit Singh, Chitra Singh, Anup Jalota and Ravindra Jain. “Laughter king” Raju Shrivastav has been invited to host the show, said circle officer R.S. Vidyarti.

Apart from the celebrities, there would be dance troupes from Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Jharkhand.

According to the administration, the Jharkhand chief minister, governor, tourism minister and secretary would also participate in the festival.

Given the fact that Giridih is known as a Naxalite hotbed, the main concern of the officials as well as the guests would be arranging security for the celebrities.

But the force is ready for the challenge.

Superintendent of police Murarilal Meena said: “We are organising this programme to eliminate the fear of Naxalites from the minds of people. So far the rebels have never targeted pilgrims and tourists here, but the security threat cannot be ruled out.”

Police sources said they would seal the bordering areas during the festival and post security personnel at every nook and corner of the state to foil any possible attack.

The events during the three-day fest would also include an adventure sports festival in Madhuban as well as in Khandoli Dam.

The administration would also create a website exclusively for the festival and publish a 300-page souvenir that would shed light on the culture, religion and potential of Parasnath Hills, Madhuban village and Giridih as tourist destinations.

The Giridih district administration has decided to organise road shows to promote the event in metros and cities like Ahmedabad and Ranchi.