A 13-member delegation, including a Maharashtra Minister, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife, a Marathi actor and a group of activists, will visit Kailash-Mansarovar to bring 'holy' water for a religious ceremony at the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
This special pilgrimage, to be conducted between September 12 and 17, has been jointly organised by the Chinese Consulate General and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Mumbai and has been supported by Ministry of External Affairs of China as well as India and local governments of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and Maharashtra. The consulate will bear the expenses of the tour.
Talking to reporters here today, Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde said, "As per the initial plan, the Chief Minister was to head the delegation. But he handed over the responsibility to me due to his Japan tour. It is an important trip due to its significance from religious as well as cultural points of view."
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Chief Minister's wife Amruta, chairman of ORF Sudheendra Kulkarni, a renowned computer scientist Vijay Bhatkar, Olympian shooter Anjali Bhagwat, popular Marathi actor Makarand Anaspure and renowned activist from the state Popatrao Pawar, are among those, who will be part of the team.
In a letter addressed to Shinde, Chinese Consul General in Mumbai, Zheng Xiyuan, said, "I believe this novel initiative in cultural diplomacy will create a lot of goodwill between people of China and India, and create a new significant milestone in 21st century China-India relations."
Members of the delegation have done extraordinary work in their respective fields, Shinde said, adding, "The idea is to make it as inclusive as possible. That is why we have chosen so many people to join us."
He added that this will mark the beginning of better co-ordination between both the countries on cultural front and will enhance tourism ties.
