With the nip in the air heralding Christmas festivities, Park Street has been decked up for the spectacle. Like previous years, Come 21 December, Park Street and Allen Park will come to life yet again. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the 13th edition of the Christmas festival at Allen Park on that day.

The festival will continue till 30 December. The ambit of the Illumination this year had been expanded to other districts and Bow Barracks as well but the budgetary allocation for the entire cost had been pegged at Rs 2.50cr, a much less than previous years, claimed Indranil Sen, the minister of state for information and culture.

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Mr Sen, the state minister of state for information and culture said that the Christmas carnival, which had been an annual affair in the state, had attained the tourism status due to the relentless effort of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “With foreign tourists inflow in the state registering an upward trend, foreign tourist concentration at this particular time of the year at Park Street assumes an envious proportion.

With the stretch at Park Street coming to life with all splendour and illumination, it bodes well as it provides further impetus to the tourism industry in the state. Foreign tourist inflow in the state has increased to six fold at 19 lakh. The state now ranks 3rd in the all India figure as put it by the central govt statistics,” said Mr Sen