India, Oct. 4 -- The Odisha government has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 7,01, 40,000 to Durga Puja committees across the state for this year's Dussehra celebrations.

The decision has been taken for the first time on the direction of Chief Minister Mohan Majhi.

Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department issued a notification in this regard on Saturday.

As per the notification, the Puja committees have been categorised into three groups for the disbursement of the funds and those are- Category A (Heritage Durga Puja committees), Category B ( 75-year-old Durga Puja committees) and Category C (50-Year-old Durga Puja committees).

A total of 215 heritage puja committees under Category A will receive Rs 2,17, 15,000, w...