Our Correspondent
Kohima, Nov. 29 (EMN): The stage is set for the 23rd edition of the Hornbill Festival to commence from December 1 to the 10th at Naga Heritage Village in Kisama.
Advisor of Tourism and Art and Culture, H Khehovi Yeputhomi, in his address to the media, said, ‘All necessary arrangements have been put in place, and are being monitored at all levels for successful and ceaseless celebration of the festival’.
On December 1, Statehood Day will be celebrated at Nagaland Civil Secretariat Plaza, Kohima in the morning and the inaugural programme of the Hornbill Festival will begin from 4 pm onwards with Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, as chief guest.
Governor of Nagaland, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi will be the chief host; Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio will be the host; H Khehovi Yeputhomi the festival host; while the tribal guest will be Yekhusu Tureng of Porbami village, Phek from Chakhesang community.
Meanwhile, the honoured guests for the day will be Emanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India; Barry O’ Farrell Ao, Australian High Commissioner to India; Eleonora Dimitrova, Ambassador of Bulgaria and Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs South Asia Office (SAO) Rickitt.
Amrendra Kumar, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Shillong will be the guest on December 3, while G Ramesh, Executive Director and State Head Indian Oil Corporation, Guwahati will be the special guest on December 4; Kalyan Chaubey, President of All India Football Federation (AIFF) will be the special guest on December 5; Admiral Hari Kumar, Chief of Navy Staff will be the special guest on December 7.
Meanwhile, some union ministers are also expected to attend the fest as special guests on December 2 and 6.
The advisor said the government had sent an appeal to the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) to participate in the festival and the response is awaited. He stated that even if they fail to turn up, ‘the government has plan A, B and C with the Kohima and Dimapur-based cultural clubs and troupes’.
In view of the stand of the ENPO, Yeputhomi maintained that the government and the department had met the elected members, NGOs leaders and the tribal leaders.
“They’ll say they will come back with detailed information after the discussion and till today, they have not come back with a certain decision,” he said.
Some of the new activities for this edition are Hornbill Canoe Sprint Doyang, Hornbill dart competition, bodybuilding and fitness, Mokokchung experience, Naga thali competition, catapult target and Naga silat competition.
It was informed that 32 temporary stalls have been set up by the department to promote indigenous cuisines and around 100 stalls for Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
The advisor informed that the state has earmarked INR 5 crore as usual for the festival, while adding that the department had also been sanctioning INR 15 lakh for each tribal mini-hornbill festivals, and INR 2.20 lakh under non-plan for advertisements in various media outlets.
State Bank of India (SBI), Indian Oil, Toyota, and Tata Motors are sponsoring the festival, while The Birds and Bees Talks will be the health and hygiene partners of the festival.
An entry fee of INR 20 will be levied from domestic visitors and INR 50 will be levied from the foreign tourists.
On the occasion, the Advisor also launched the stamped envelope and the brochure of the Hornbill Festival in the presence of secretary of Art and Culture, Athel O Lotha, and other officials.
Meanwhile, it was also informed that in April 2023, the G20 summit is also planned to be held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, adding that the officials had also recently visited the place.
The Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) and Eastern Nagaland Women’s Organisation (ENWO) have directed its seven federating units to strictly implement the resolution adopted during the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation's (ENPO) central executive council (CEC) meeting in Tuensang to abstain from the upcoming Hornbill Festival.
It, however, raised no objection to the participation of Village Guards (VG) in the Statehood Day celebration on December 1 at Secretariat in Kohima.
The joint statement directed the VG personnel to participate in the event only in their official uniform and “not in traditional cultural attire as demanded”.
The VG personnel were further directed not to display any cultural items of the seven tribes of eastern Nagas, or use the morungs allotted to the eastern Nagas at Kisama.
The statement was issued following consultation with all the former ENSF officials, former presidents, advisors, it stated.
Further, it said that no individual, group or organisation and government agencies should display any cultural items belonging to seven tribes of eastern Nagaland during the entire Hornbill Festival under any circumstances.
“In the event of failure, the two organisations will have no option but to initiate stringent action against the defaulters,” it read.
It may be mentioned that the seven federating units consists of Chang Wedoshi Setshang (CWS), Khiamniungan Students’ Union (KSU), Konyak Students’ Union (KSU), Phom Students’ Conference (PSC), Tikhir Students’ Union (TSU), United Sangtam Students’ Conference (USCC), Yimkhiung Akherü Arihako (YAA), Changsao Thangjam Setshang (CTS), Phomla Hoichem (PH), Tikhir Women Association (TWA), Akehta Sangtamlarü Thsingmujang (AST), Yimkhiung Women Organisation(YWO), Khiamniungan Menyiu Hoikam (KMH) and Konyak Nyupuh Sheko Khong(KNSK).