The Central Government claims that it invited the Tamil Nadu Government to participate and provide help in organising the one-month-long Kashi-Tamil Sangamam being held in Varanasi from November 19, but did not receive a response.
“We wrote to the Tamil Nadu Government seeking their participation as well as their help for the Varanasi event, but there was no response,” said an official of the Union Government’s Ministry of Education on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, on the third day of the month-long event a delegation from Tamil Nadu visited the various ghats on the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi and took a holy dip and chanted slogans of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. They also visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
A separate delegation comprising students also arrived at Prayagraj after finishing a tour of Varanasi and took a holy dip in “Triveni Sangam” or the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati river. The students also visited the Shri Adi Shankar Vimana Mandapam temple.
A total of 2,500 participants are expected to attend the event from various parts of Tamil Nadu. They will arrive in different batches, each of whom will spend a total of six days in Uttar Pradesh where they will spend two days each in Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj. Delegates have been chosen from 12 domains which include students, teachers, business persons, artisans, temple staff, among others. The event concludes on December 19.
