Uttar Pradesh Day: Three-day celebrations to see public participation first time

Lucknow: The three-day celebrations marking the 'Uttar Pradesh Day' will include public participation this time with a focus on investment and employment, officials said on Saturday.

The statewide event will be held from January 24- 26, they said. The foundation day of Uttar Pradesh on January 24 is being celebrated for three days since 2018 with the participation of all government departments.

However, this time, in 2023, it has been decided to ensure public participation in the celebrations, an official statement quoted Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra as saying. Detailed guidelines in this regard have been issued to all district magistrates, the statement said.

The state-level event on 'Uttar Pradesh Day' will be organised in 'Awadh Shilp Gram', Lucknow and 'Noida Shilp Gram', Noida while the district-level events will be held at all district headquarters of the state, it said.

For the state-level programmes to be organised in Lucknow and Noida, the Department of Culture and Noida Industrial Development Authority respectively have been made the nodal agencies, while district magistrates concerned will be the nodal officers in the districts, the statement said.

The main theme of the 'Uttar Pradesh Day' 2023 is 'Investment and Employment', it said, adding instructions have been given for organising seminars, roadshows, entrepreneurs' conferences etc to focus on investment and employment.

Exhibitions will also be organised on topics like investment and employment, digital Uttar Pradesh, cyber security and advanced natural agriculture, the statement said. The success stories of the beneficiaries of various schemes of the departments concerned and special talents of the districts will also be displayed through photo film brochures, it said.

On this occasion, an exhibition related to the development journey of Uttar Pradesh since its formation now will be organised by the UP State Archives at all programme venues, including Lucknow, as per the statement.

The initiative to celebrate 'Uttar Pradesh Day' was taken by the then Governor Ram Naik and this event is celebrated every year since 2018 after the formation of the BJP government under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath in the state. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh was known as United Provinces. However, on January 24, 1950, it was recognized as Uttar Pradesh.