Tourists can attend Rajgir fest for free

PATNA: In a first, the glorious history of Rajgir would be depicted through a laser show. Anyone in Rajgir can enjoy the show on December 20, the last day of the three-day Rajgir festival.

“We have decided to showcase the glorious past of Rajgir through a laser show, which will be visible from all sides in the ancient city. This show would be shown on the hills of Rajgir to have a clear visibility from all sides on December 20 night,” said director, Bihar tourism, Vinay Kumar.

Talking to TOI, Kumar said that CM Nitish Kumar has already given his consent to open the three-day Rajgir festival on December 18 evening at Quila Maidan in the backdrop of Ratnagiri hills.

A Kolkata-based firm has been hired to do the show to showcase the past glory of Rajgir.

In order to attract tourists to the festival, the guests staying in hotels of Patna and Bodh Gaya would be taken to Rajgir to witness the mega cultural event free of cost.

“The guests staying in hotels and wishing to visit Rajgir to witness the programme from December 18 to 20 would be taken by special buses both from Patna and Bodh Gaya free of cost. They will have to inform our office in advance so that we can pick them up from hotels,” Kumar told TOI.

“This facility will be available on all three days. This has been done to encourage visiting tourists to witness Rajgir festival without any hassle of transport,” he said.

According to official sources, the festival is estimated to cost Rs 50 lakh. Apart from internationally-acclaimed artists, local talents would also be participating, for which a district-level competition was held to select them.

A galaxy of internationally-acclaimed artists, including Bhupinder Singh Narula (Bollywood sufi singer), Nandini Ghoshal (Odissi dancer), Sapna Awasthi (Bollywood singer) and Shaan (famous singer) have already given their consent to participate in this festival, Kumar said.

Shaan and his 25-member troupe would reach here on December 20 by a chartered flight to participate in the festival. He would be performing for the first time in Rajgir.

In order to popularise this event, the department of tourism has contacted over 5,000 travel agents of South East Asia to offer package for the tourists visiting Rajgir and Bodh Gaya during this period. “A substantial rebate has been offered to them. We have offered them five tour packages, for which we will give them incentives,” Kumar said.

Read more: Tourists can attend Rajgir fest for free – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Tourists-can-attend-Rajgir-fest-for-free/articleshow/7073204.cms#ixzz17pvvWCj2