Work on multicrore Mahabharata museum kicks off in Kurukshetra
Govt already facing oppn’s flak for spending crores of rupees for Saraswati river and Gita Jayanti Mahotsav
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government has begun construction of the multi-crore project of Mahabharata-themed museum in Jyotisar village of Kurukshetra district. The move comes at a time when the government is already facing criticism from the opposition for spending crores of rupees for revival of the mythical Saraswati river and annual celebrations of International Gita Jayanti Mahotsav.
As per information, the Union government has allocated ₹31 crore for the museum project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The construction of the boundary wall of the museum has already begun. The museum will reportedly house a meditation centre, exhibition, shopping complex, parking lot, toilets and a huge entrance. The project will be spread over 19 acres of land on the Pehowa-Kurukshetra road. The construction is being carried out by a private construction company, which has been allocated the task by the Haryana public works department.
Sources associated with the project said the work will be completed in one year and the Haryana PWD and the government have already provided land for the project. This is the third major project of the BJP government, which is being considered an attempt to promote Hindu mythology and religious tourism after Gita Jayanti and Saraswati river.
There are already hundreds of temples situated in the holy city of Kurukshetra, but the Kurukshetra Development Board has also provided several acres of land at cheaper rates to local trusts owned by religious gurus for the construction of more temples.
OPPOSITION REACTS
However, the leaders of opposition parties have termed such projects wastage of money of tax payers and accused the BJP of mixing religion with politics for political gains in the Hindu-dominated state.
When contacted, former chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “This BJP government is not a government but has become an event management company and they are just wasting the money for the promotion of religion for their political benefits.”
“We are also Hindus and worship cow but we never try to use religion for politics like the BJP,” he added.
On the other hand, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Ashok Arora too said, “This (BJP) government does not have money for development of villages, construction of roads and improvement of health and education, but have crores of rupees of tax payers to waste for the promotion of religion.”
He further said, “Earlier, to divert the attention of the people from development, the BJP government wasted crores of rupees over Saraswati river and Gita Jayanti Mahotsav, and now they have started another project worth several crores but have no focus to provide employment to youths.”
However, the project received mix response from the residents of Jyotisar village as they too demand that the government should give importance to educating the youth of their village and provide employment to them under the initiated project.
“We are not opposing the project but the government should take steps to create more jobs for our youth. The government has made no such commitment that the youth of our village will get jobs in the project as per their qualifications,” said construction worker Sanjeev Sharma of Jyotisar village.
This BJP govt has become an event management company and they are just wasting the money for the promotion of religion for their political benefits. We are also Hindus and worship cow but we never try to use religion for politics like the BJP. BHUPINDER SINGH HOODA, former chief minister