U'khand seeks Rs 5,000 cr grant from Centre for Maha Kumbh 2021

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought a one-time grant of Rs 5,000 crore for organising the Maha Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in 2021.

Rawat said, "More than 15 crore tourists and devotees from different parts of the country and the world are expected to visit Haridwar for the Maha Kumbh in 2021. Keeping in view the arrangements like housing, transportation, health, sanitation, security etc. to be made for the Maha Kumbh Mela, we have requested for Rs 5,000 crore one-time grant."

"All the preparations for Maha Kumbh in Haridwar have to be done by October 2020," he added.

The Finance Minister said, "The Central government will provide every possible assistance to Uttarakhand for the Maha Kumbh."

Rawat also met Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and requested the Central government to bear the cost of land acquisition for Rishikesh bypass road.

"Land acquisition for Rishikesh bypass is estimated to cost around Rs 250 crore. Since the road was accepted under the Char Dham Highway Project, the Central government should bear this cost," Rawat said.

"In order to deal with the traffic inflow during the Maha Kumbh, it is also necessary to construct a ring road in Haridwar city," he added.

The chief minister said that the NHAI is already working to convert the Muzaffar Nagar-Haridwar National Highway into four lanes and requested Gadkari to make sure the road is completed before the commencement of the Kumbh Mela in 2021.