Big celebration in store for UP Diwas from January 24

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Government plans to celebrate ‘UP Diwas’ in a big way for the first time since the State came into being in 1950. The two-day celebrations starting January 24 would be held in Lucknow next year.

Plans are afoot to organise various cultural and entertainment programme and felicitate artistes to make the event memorable. Chief Secretary, Rajive Kumar, who is overseeing the preparations, directed the officials on Wednesday to submit action plan for launching one project in each district on the occasion. To spread awareness and ensure participation of youths, the State Government would invite online presentation from college students on ‘Action Plan for Development in Up’ topic. “Ten best presentations would be shortlisted and the students

PHOTO EXHIBITION OF EMINENT PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE STATE’S DEVELOPMENT AND MADE SACRIFICES WOULD ALSO BE HELD ON THE OCCASION.

selected would be asked to make their presentations before the chief minister,” said Kumar.

He said the State packed tremendous potential in various sectors and honing in the talent and exploring the growth challenges for building a modern UP would be the theme of quiz contests that would be organised in schools and colleges to create awareness. Photo exhibition of eminent people who contributed to the State’s development and made sacrifices would also be held on the occasion.

In May, this HT reported for the first time that how unlike Maharashtra and other States, which celebrate their birth, UP earlier called United Provinces, was rechristened as Uttar Pradesh in 1950 but never marked the occasion. Consequently, the matter was taken up by Governor Ram Naik, who wrote a letter to the UP Government asking that UP Day should be organized to instil a feeling of pride and create awareness among the citizens. CM Yogi Adityanath promptly responded saying that UP would also celebrate ‘UP Diwas’ on the lines of the Maharashtra Day so that people know the history and culture of their state. Demands for celebrating the ‘UP Diwas’ had been pending for long. UP was born on January 24, 1950. The then governor general of India passed the United Provinces (alteration of name) Order 1950 renaming the then United Provinces as UP. It was published in the UP Gazette (extraordinary) dated 24 January 1950.