Kolkata: The tourism department has lined up plans to organise different festivals in the state keeping in sync with the specific characteristics of the different districts, like palash festival in Purulia, tea festival in Darjeeling, and orange festival in Sitong. This will highlight the tradition and culture of Bengal as well as develop infrastructure for tourism, state tourism minister Shankar Ghosh announced on Friday.Ghosh was speaking at the kite festival at Eco Park’s gate 1 in New Town, organised by the tourism dept as a step towards reviving traditional recreational activities. Expert kite-flyers from different states participated in the event, displaying kites with different themes and designs, including traditional Bengal designs.“We are highlighting the culture and traditions of Bengal that are rooted in the soil. Kite-flying is one of those traditions which is an integral part of our culture. On Friday, due to adverse weather conditions, we only organised a display. Makar Sankranti is another day known for kite-flying and we will try to organise another festival in the districts,” Ghosh said.“We have thought about a pond festival (Pukur Utsav), as well as an orange festival, food festival, and tea festival in different places in the state,” the minister said.“There is a plan to conduct a walkathon from Meghma to Sandakphu, and we also plan to organise a festival in Dooars. Our aim is to develop tourist-related infrastructure and also highlight the traditions through different events,” the minister said.Ghosh said that the tourism department is open to suggestions or advice for promotion and development of tourism. “The idea of organising this kite festival had come as a consultative suggestion. We will be happy to get more such proposals and suggestions,” the minister said.
