New Delhi: The eight states of North East India, their customs, heritage, traditions, music, dances, tourism as well as success stories and personalities will be the focus of a new festival scheduled to be held here in November.
The first ever North East Festival, a two-day carnival is scheduled to be held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) from November 8.
“The event would discuss issues of aptitude, skill development in the North East and would showcase skill development initiatives apart from showcasing entrepreneurial success stories,” former Chief Secretary, Manipur, D S Poonia, said here today .
According to a survey conducted by the North East India Image Mangers, 87 per cent of the people couldn’t name all the states in North East part of India. However, it found that 93 per cent of respondents wanted to more know about the region. Organizers said lack of awareness about the region prompted them to organise such an event. The event is organised by Trend MMS in association with North East MP’s Forum and IGNCA, with support from the Ministry of DoNER, NEIim and various students organisations.
“The success stories of successful people like boxer Mary Kom and TV journalist Arnab Goswami as well as several unsung heroes will be presented to the audience. Discussing business is very important as it will suggest strategies and ideas to generate employment within the region,” organiser-in-chief, North East Festival Shyamkanu Mahanta said.
Separate sessions on issues related to problems faced by North Eastern students in the country would be discussed at the event.
Musicians and dancers are lined up to perform various ethnic dances and music throughout the event. “I am coming to IGNCA for the event to promote the unique culture of North East, please come and join this unique festival of connecting people,” Olympian boxer Mary Kom said in a statement.
Organisers say the event, billed as an annual affair, would also focus on tourism. “The main reason for domestic travellers not going to the region is because of the poor infrastructure, lack of connectivity and poor perception which needs a change,” said Mahanta.
“Sikkim attracts more tourists among all the North Eastern states, followed by Assam and Meghalaya which are catching up. A number of hotels in the region are come up, so yes we can say tourism is starting to boom,” Poonia said. (PTI)
Mizoram among top 5 states for HIV/Aids among IDU
Aizawl: Mizoram was one of the top five states in the country which have the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS among Intravenous Drug Users, according to the HIV Sentinel Surveillance, 2010-11 conducted by the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare.
This was stated in the conference on Engaging the Faith Based Organisations in Drug Use and HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment & Care, organised jointly by the UNODC and the World Vision here today. While there were sharp decline in HIV infection due to IDU in the north east region, it was increasing in Mizoram, the study said.
Meanwhile, the highest HIV infection in the state was due to sexual contact at 70 per cent. The conference was attended by representative of major churches in the state. (PTI)