Stage set for Hornbill Festival

November 30, 2022 50 Views No Comment

Vice President to attend inaugural programme

Morung Express News
Kohima | November 30

The 23rd edition of the annual 10-day Hornbill Festival is all set to kick off on December 1 at The Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.

Advisor for Tourism and Art & Culture, H Khehovi Yepthomi said the inaugural programme will be graced by Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankar as the chief guest and Nagaland and Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi as the chief host.

Addressing media persons this evening at the Directorate of Tourism, Yepthomi said all preparatory works have been completed while the stakeholders have been very forthcoming and enthusiastic.

Awaiting ENPO response
When queried, the Advisor said the State Government is awaiting response from the Eastern Naga People’s Organisation (ENPO).

He said that a meeting with the elected members, tribal leaders and others was held since ENPO announced that it would refrain from participation in the Hornbill Festival.

As their participation remains uncertain with only a day to go, the Advisor said, the government has devised ‘Plan B’ and made arrangements to have cultural groups perform.

Footfall of tourists
Upon request, the Department of Tourism has provided a comparative data on the footfall of tourists over the last five years.

As per the data, during 2017 there has been an increase of tourists (inclusive of foreign, domestic and local) of 54%.

The year 2018 saw only 3% increase and the subsequent year with 11%. During 2020, the festival could not be held due to the pandemic and in 2021; the festival was cut short due to the Oting incident of December 4.

Meanwhile, Yepthomi expressed optimistically that there would be more footfall of tourists this year.

The Advisor also informed that Rs 5 crore has been budgeted. Also some of this year’s sponsors include SBI, Indian Oil, Toyota and Tata Motors with The Birds and Bees Talk as the health and hygiene partner.

No concrete response was given when asked about the dilution of the festival with pop culture and exorbitant price of products and eateries during the festival.

Yepthomi also released the Hornbill Festival 2022 handbook and the department’s envelope along with other officials.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/stage-set-for-hornbill-festival