The Centre announced the schedule for second phase of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam here on Tuesday. IIT Madras has launched the registration portal for the programme. It will start on December 17 and end on December 30, the Union Education Ministry said in a release.
The Ministry said the programme proposes to take forward the objective of reviving the living bonds between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu. Around 1400 people from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will travel by train to Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya for an eight-day tour, including the travel time.
“They will be divided into seven groups, comprising students, teachers, farmers & artisans, traders & businessmen, religious, writers, and professionals. Each group will be named after a sacred river — Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sindhu, Narmada, Godavari and Kaveri,” the release added.
The emphasis of the second phase will be awareness generation & outreach, people to people connect and cultural immersion. “The focus would be on increased engagement and interaction with local counterparts — weavers, artisans, artists, entrepreneurs, writers etc — to get insights into best practices, enhance learning and cross pollination of ideas,” the Education Ministry, the nodal Ministry for the programme, said.
IIT Madras has called for applications on the Kashi Tamil Sangamam portal from people of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry who wish to participate. “The selection of delegates will be done by a selection committee,” the release added. The first edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam was held from November 16 to December 16, 2022.