The State government’s Onam celebrations this year will be organised from August 27 to September 2. On Friday, an organising committee with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the chief patron was formed, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, and Transport Minister Antony Raju presided over the meeting in which various committees were also formed.
Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer, Deputy Speaker Chittayam Gopakumar, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil, Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian, Mr. Sivankutty, Mr. Antony Raju, Kadakampally Surendran, MLA, and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajedran were chosen as the patrons. Various subcommittees have also been formed. These will meet before July 25. The meeting also decided to prepare the final list of arts and cultural programmes and venues by August 5.
Mr. Riyas said that the Onam celebrations would be turned into something the world pays attention to. He said that the festival was an opportunity to present Kerala and its rich culture to the world. The Onam celebrations last year, held after a break due to the COVID-19 outbreak, was a huge success. It is expected that more foreign tourists will participate in the Onam celebrations this time. More tourists from other States are also expected. There would also be online celebrations including a virtual flower garden, he said.
