Bhopal, Oct 30 (IANS): Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the four-day-long celebrations of the 69th foundation day of Madhya Pradesh by hoisting the National Flag at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal on Wednesday.

Flag hoisting was followed by the national anthem and guard of honour along with band performance by the Army.

Addressing the gathering on occasion, CM Yadav highlighted heritage and development in the past two decades in the state.

He urged people to participate in the celebration.

"Madhya Pradesh is emerging as a future-ready state under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP government is committed to the state's economic growth and continuous efforts were being made to employ youth," CM Yadav said.

Minister Krishna Gaur, Bhopal MP Alok Sharma and Mayor Malti Rai, Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, Director General of Police (DGP) Sudhir Saxena and many other dignitaries were present on this occasion.

The events will be organised across the state and the Culture Department has prepared a long list of programmes. Several renowned artists, including singers KS Chitra, Papon, Javed Ali, Monali Thakur and Meet Bros, will perform at the function.

A 'qawwali' session was also planned, for which, the names of Sabri Brothers, Quadri Brothers and Nizami Bandhu have been proposed. Besides, the different wings and institutions of the Culture Department will showcase their exhibitions on the Bhavan's premises.

Madhya Pradesh came into existence on November 1, 1956, following the reorganisation of states.

It was created by merging the erstwhile Madhya Pradesh (without the Marathi-speaking areas, which were merged with Bombay state), Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal states.

On November 1, 1956, the legislative assemblies of all four erstwhile states were also merged to form the reorganised Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha.