Mail News Service
Baharagora: The nine day Gramin Vikas Mela (GVM) concluded today. It was the silver jubilee year of the annual fair organized at Netaji Subhas Uddyan.
Crowds comprising school and college students and visitors from bordering areas of Bengal and Odisha thronged the fairgrounds everyday with the main attractions being stalls exhibiting and selling agricultural and cottage industry products, paintings and delicious culinary traditional offerings of Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha.
The cultural functions performed by school and college students drew huge crowds every evening. Artistes from Kolkata performed till late into the night.
The GVM was jointly inaugurated by former Chief Minister Shibu Soren, Rajya Sabha member Dhiraj Sahu and legislator Kunal Shadangi. On the concluding day, a souvenir was released by former Jharkhand minister Dr Dinesh Kumar Shadangi and BJP leader Samir Mahanty.
Parliamentarian Bidyut Baran Mahto’s presence enhanced the excitement of the people at the Mela. Popular figure and founder of the Netaji Subhas Sishu Uddyan Rabindra Nath Das said, “The GVM was started 25 years ago with the objective of providing a platform for rural talents in the realms of agriculture and cottage industry. With time, this localized concept grew wider and today it is acknowledged as the biggest fair that showcases the cultural heritages of Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha.”
