Our Correspondent
Imphal, Nov. 20 (EMN): The stage is all set to unveil the 11th and biggest edition of the Manipur Sangai Festival at 13 different venues with the newly-developed Sangai Ethnic Park at Mourang Khunou near Loktak in Bishnupur district as the main venue for the opening ceremony on November 21.
Union minister of DoNeR, G Kishan Reddy will formally open the 10-day festival, which is the annual tourism promotion festival of the northeastern state, in presence of state chief minister N Biren Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba.
The other venues of the festival include Manipur State Film Development Society, Ibudhou Marjing, Mapal Kangjeibung, Khuman Lampak, Food Park (Nilakuthi), Koirengei, Kangla Polo Ground and City Convention Centre-all in and around Imphal, Mao & Makhel (Senapati), Khuga & Behiang (Churachandpur).
Informing this in a tweet on Sunday, Union minister Kishan Reddy wrote, “Here is a peek into the one of the biggest festivals of Manipur - 'The Sangai Festival 2022'. Spread across 14 venues in 6 districts, the festival will be a blend of culture, tradition, cuisine and sports I will be inaugurating the festival tomorrow 21st November, 2022.”
After a gap of two years, the festival will witness various events including fashion show, Sangai run, tourism pavilion, flower show, indigenous cultural programmes, handloom and handicrafts, traditional shows-Arambai, Mukna, Yubi Lakpi, International polo tournament, CM’s Sagol Kangjei Championship- a traditional sport which has now evolved into the modern game of polo, film screening and mixed martial arts, besides daily traditional dance sequences.
The Cherry Blossom Festival at Mao and the village of Makhel in the northern district of Senapati and similar events at Behiang, a village which borders Myanmar, Gelzang Resort and Lamka Peace Ground in the southern district of Churachandpur, are other tourist attractions.
In view of the Sangai Festival which begins from November 21, certain traffic diversions including restrictions and parking spaces have been notified.
For the first time, the state police department is also introducing ‘tourist police’ to guide the tourists visiting the state during the festival, by deploying tourist police team at various locations including the airport.
Earlier, on October 23, Kolkata -the city of joy - hosted a curtain raiser event at Salt Lake City Centre to share the uniqueness of Manipur beyond her borders. A team of six Ambassadors/High Commissioners of India during their recent visit to the state, have agreed to promote Manipur as a popular tourist destination among the Northeast states for its Loktak, largest freshwater lake in Eastern India, Keibul Lamjao, the only floating park in the world and home to Sangai, a rare brow-antlered deer, Mapal Kangjeibung, oldest living pologround and Shirui peak, the abode of the state’s flower Shiuri Lily.