Governor Bandaru Dattatraya led the traditional, third and final Jaleb (procession) from Shri Raj Madhav Temple to Paddal fair ground in Mandi during concluding ceremony of seven-day long international Mandi Shivaratri festival on Friday evening.

Earlier, the Governor offered obeisance at the Shri Madhav Rai and Baba Bhootnath temples.

Addressing general public, Bandaru Dattatraya said Himachal’s rich culture and its people’s deep faith in their traditional values was unique feature of this hill state.

He said that his experience of taking part of Jaleb was unforgettable and he was overwhelmed with the amalgamation of folk culture.

He appreciated the district administration and members of the organising committee for re-establishing the ancient tradition of Jaleb in this fair.

The Governor also praised the organising committee for organizing ramp walks and fashion shows of girl children with their parents in Himachali costumes to promote Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign during the festival.

He said that the development of any country was associated with the progress of women.

“Today, women have come forward in every field and their participation was essential for inclusive growth of the nation,” he said, while underlining the need to give equal opportunities to women and to encourage them in their lives.

The Governor appealed everybody to come forward to make Himachal a drug-free state. He said that coordinated efforts of all sections of the society needed to save Devbhumi Himachal from the clutches of drugs.

He said that due to the hard work of Himachalis, today the state has emerged as the model of development for others states. He also stressed the need to work together to continue this developmental journey in future.

The Governor also gave away the prizes to the winners of various competitions organized during the festival.

Later, he visited the exhibition put up by various departments depicting five decade golden journey of Himachal Pradesh. He expressed happiness that Himachal is celebrating Golden Jubilee of its statehood and theme of this year’s Shivratri festival was also focused on it.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of the organising committee Rugved Thakur welcomed the Governor and detailed about the various activities organized during the last seven days of the festival.