Principal secretary of the tourism department, Mukesh Meshram, told ET: “Such events are organised in multiple states — be it Ganeshotsav in Maharashtra, Durga Puja in West Bengal. For large crowd management the government has to be involved. Also, the department is not paying temples or priests, it is only paying local artistes.” The government will give `1 lakh to each DM for expenses of artistes and performers, it said.
