‘Bharat Parv’ ends of a successful note

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) The seven-day patriotic festival’Bharat Parv’ to mark Independence Day concluded on"successful" note with pledge to root out evils that areplaguing the country like corruption and terrorism. "We have got freedom after a long struggle and we need topreserve it…Now we have to get freedom from social evilslike corruption, terrorism, untouchability and so on," TourismMinister Mahesh Sharma said. Stressing that the the event (Bharat Parv) ended on a"successful note", he said the government also plans toorganise such programme in the future on Independence andRepublic Days. Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said about 8-10 lakhpeople participated in the festival, which started on August12. Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu saidthe "idea" of the programme was to "imbibe patriotic fervour"among the people. "This purpose by and large has been achieved. It hasrejuvenated cultural nationalism among the people. It alsoaims to create social awareness among the people for fightingsocial evils," he said He also appreciated the programme "Azadi se Azadi Tak-EkBuland Naara (Quit India 2)" in which over 300 artists fromMaharashtra participated, capturing important incidents in theindependence struggle. It ended with a message that people should work towardsgetting independence from various evils. The festival showcased India’s cultural diversity withvarious folk and tribal dance performances from differentstates and UTs. Union Minister of state for Information and BroadcastingRajyavardhan Rathore and Leader of Opposition in DelhiAssembly Vijender Gupta, among others, were present to witnessthe finale programme. PTI MPRG