India’s biggest river festival, Namami Brahmaputra, is expected to draw a large number of tourists from Bengaluru, where a large chunk of people from Assam live.

“About 2.5 lakh people from Assam live in Bengaluru and they have shown interest in the event. We are coordinating with the tourism department here to draw more crowds for the river festival between March 31 and April 4,” Ashutosh Agnihotri, Commissioner and Secretary, Tourism Department, Government of Assam, told journalists on Thursday.

Agnihotri said they were in talks with state government representatives for setting up stalls at the festival through which Karnataka Tourism can be promoted. “Every year, we get 56 lakh tourists and we aim to double this number through the event,” he said.

The festival, organised at a cost of Rs 15 crore, will happen across 21 districts along the River Brahmaputra on its entire stretch from Sadiya town to Dhubri district of Assam.