100 Drums Wangala Festival concludes
TURA: Meghalaya Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma has asked the Arts and Culture Department to work out the modalities to recreate and dedicate Asanang, 18 kms away from Tura, as a heritage site and cultural destination.
The Chief Minister was addressing the gathering during the concluding day of the 37th Wangala Festival at Asanang on Saturday evening.
The 100 Drums Wangala Festival is the post harvest festival of the Garos, consisting of various thanksgiving rituals followed with merrymaking, music and dance. The festival ended on a colourful note on Saturday.
While lauding the organizers for their endeavour to preserve the rich culture of the Garos for the last 37 years through this festival, Sangma admitted that there has not been enough government support for cultural events in the past.
He, however, said that for the last three years, the government has been actively supporting festivals like Behdeinkhlam, Nongkrem and Wangala by earmarking dedicated funds.
“We can utilize such events not only to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the local people but also to help the people connect with the rest of the world,” he said adding that it is also the endeavour of the government to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of every community. “It is with this intent the government has established district arts and cultural society in every district spearheaded by the respective Deputy Commissioners,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister also handed over a cheque of Rs 20 lakh from the Tourism department to the president of the organizing committee of the 100 Drums Wangala Festival, LK Marak. Earlier, the Chief Minister accompanied by former Union Minister, V. Narayanaswamy, AICC Secretary in charge Meghalaya, Vijayalakshmi Sadhu, former chief minister and chief advisor to the Government, DD Lapang and a host of other dignitaries were given a traditional welcome. They also visited the stalls put up at the district level industrial exhibition organized by the DCIC, Tura which coincided with the three-day festival.