The International Gita Mahotsav will run in Kurukshetra from December 5 to 25, with the Indian Navy, Air Force, ISRO and Indian Council for Cultural Relations participating for the first time and the city preparing transport, sanitation and venue-access measures for visitors and devotees.
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini announced the expanded participation while chairing the 83rd meeting of the Kurukshetra Development Board. Delhi and West Bengal will join this year’s festival as partner states, while students of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country will also be connected with the celebrations.
The festival programme will include religious, spiritual and cultural events, Gita conferences, Bhagwat Katha and an exhibition marking 60 years of Haryana’s formation. District-level celebrations are scheduled from December 18 to 20, including Gita recitations in village temples.
The administration will begin an awareness campaign on December 2 covering 182 pilgrimage sites in the 48-kos region. A procession from Pipli is scheduled for December 4, ahead of the formal festival opening.
Transport and visitor movement emerged as key administrative concerns during the board meeting. Haryana governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh stressed the need to improve transport connectivity, bus services and access to festival venues for devotees and tourists. The state government also ordered better traffic management during the event.
Civic preparations will include a month-long cleanliness drive, dedicated sanitation teams and measures to manage visitor movement. The focus on access and basic services reflects the operational demands of a festival spread across multiple pilgrimage locations and venues rather than a single event site.
The meeting also reviewed a series of infrastructure and public-realm projects in Kurukshetra. These include a 90-room guest house at Brahma Sarovar, estimated to cost Rs 120 crore, a Guru Tegh Bahadur Singh Gate at Purushottampura, and an entrance gate and Gita Pillar at Jyotisar.
Draupadi Koop is scheduled for renovation, while Saraswati Tirth at Pehowa will receive a parikrama route extending over two kilometres. Eleven roundabouts in Kurukshetra will also be beautified as part of the preparations.
Saini directed the Kurukshetra deputy commissioner and his officer on special duty to audit pending works and submit a report. He warned of strict action over irregularities, although the meeting report did not specify individual project deadlines or the status of each work.
The festival preparations will proceed through the December 2 awareness campaign, the December 4 procession and the December 5-25 programme, with transport, sanitation and traffic arrangements forming part of the administration’s stated next steps.
