Silchar: The second edition of Jatinga Festival 2010 will be held from October 19 to 24 ‘with a humble effort towards spreading the message of communal harmony amongst the people of Dima Hasao district’.
Kulendra Daulagupu, secretary general of the reception committee of the Festival today said, Chandan Brahma, Assam Minister for Tourism will grace the occasion on the inaugural day on October 19.
The festival is being organised with a view to promoting eco-tourism as well as showcasing the art and craft, music and dance, culture and cuisine of the various ethnic groups of the Dima Hasao district, he said.
Bird watching, trekking to the Hempeupet Peak, trekking to the Behendao Baiglai waterfalls, prize money angling competition at Dihangi will be the highlights of this edition of the festival.
Prize money angling competition is one of the new attractive additions to this edition of the festival. The angling competition will be held on October 22 and 23 along the Diyung River at Dihangi and is inclusive of both bank and boat fishing.
Golden Masheer (Dimasa name Nayung), Chocolate Masheer (Nasur) are some of the fish species found abundantly in the stretch of the river. The prize for the biggest catch is Rs 30,000, Daolagupu added.
Hysteria Beat contest for young generation and music lovers, boat race competition along the Diyung River at Dihangi, ethnic cuisine for food enthusiasts, flower show on the boat house of the Haflong Lake, exhibition on art and craft apart from sight-seeing of the beautiful and exotic locations, are on the programme list of this edition of the Jatinga Festival.
For adventurous tourists, tent arrangements are being made at a vantage point of Jatinga from where one can enjoy the scenic beauty of the surroundings and watch birds during the nights.
Amid fresh tension in the once-troubled district the festival will help promote emotional integration and remove the spell of despair from the mind-space of the people, the organizers said.
Besides, the event would open up new vistas for tourism promotion, it added.
Jatinga , a village on a ridge, is most famous for the phenomenon of birds ‘committing suicide’. Although the birds do not commit suicide and are actually killed, the phenomenon of suicide has spread far and wide among common people.
The village is inhabited by Jaintia tribal people. (UNI)