Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi, Feb 20:The eighth Itkhori Festival began on February 19 this year and was inaugurated by the Minister of Labour of Jharkhand Satyanand Bhokta in the Chatra district.
Notably, the three-day-long annual festival is celebrated in the month of February at Itkhori, Chatra in the premises of the Bhadrakali temple. The purpose behind organizing the State Itkhori Festival initially was not only to organize a cultural programme but the foundation of the festival was laid with the hopes of tourism development in the Chatra district of Jharkhand. Above all, Itkhori Mahotsav got the status of a state festival in the year 2016, but the Itkhori Festival was started in the year 2015 in the Maa Bhadrakali temple compound.
With the efforts of Chatra MP Sunil Kumar Singh, a three-day festival was started at this confluence site of Sanatan, Jainism, and Buddhism that has become the largest festival of the district. The main objective behind organizing this festival was to wash away the stains of wrongdoings by the Naxalites in this area. In fact, in the year 2014, on the way to Maa Bhadrakali temple, Naxalites had exploded a landmine that killed a police officer. Along with the administration and the people of the area, MP Sunil Kumar Singh was affected by the incident. As a result, he reached Itkhori on the second day of the blast with a resolve to organize such a festival in the premises of the temple of Ma Bhadrakali that would be famous in the whole nation.
The historical city of Itkhori now buzzes with hordes of devotees and tourists during the festival. The atmosphere of enthusiasm in the temple premises can be felt till midnight. Itkhori Mahotsav has also opened the door for the development of religious and natural tourist places of the district along with Maa Bhadrakali temple compound. Several schemes have been run by the government for tourism development. A master plan of Rs 500 crore has been prepared for the Bhadrakali temple compound. Under this, the construction work of a state-of-the-art museum at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore is underway in the temple premises. The electricity system has been constructed at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore and guest houses have been set up at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore.
The temple complex of Maa Bhadrakali was developed as a religious city over a period of time, the evidence of which is still present in the form of archaeological remains in the temporary museum located in the temple premises. However, after demolition in the 12th century, this religious city was completely destroyed. It was then discovered in the 18th century after being buried for six hundred years. After this, the work of re-establishing the temple complex of Maa Bhadrakali began gradually, but the pace was very slow.
After the theft of the statue of Maa Bhadrakali in the year 1968 and the return of the statue again from Kolkata, people of this area prayed to Maa Bhadrakali with unwavering devotion. After the Sahastra Chandi Mahayagya in the year 1983, some development work was done in the temple premises by the temple development committee. Then in the year 2007, with the efforts of the then Forest Conservator of Forests, Y K Singh Chauhan, the Tourism Department did the work of tourism development in the temple premises at a cost of one crore sixty lakh rupees. After this, the work of beautification of the temple by Maa Bhadrakali Temple Management Committee also began on a war footing.
Despite the developmental works, the identity of this historical and religious city was not up to par with its importance historically. Meanwhile, after becoming MP from Chatra parliamentary constituency, MP Sunil Kumar Singh started organizing the Itkhori Mahotsav in the year 2015 for the purpose of the development of the temple compound. A year later, in the year 2016, the State Government gave the Itkhori Mahotsav the status of a state festival. Not only this, after a year, in the year 2017, the Jharkhand government planned a master plan costing six hundred crore rupees for tourism development in the temple complex. At present, the DPR of the plan of the master plan is completely ready. The government can lay the foundation stone for the implementation of this ambitious master plan at any time. If the master plan is executed exactly as planned, then this historical place will make a different identity for itself not only in Jharkhand but in the whole nation.
