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Church body plays down row over Cherry Blossom Festival

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By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, Oct 22: The Khasi Jaintia Church Leaders Forum (KJCLF) said that it is not against Cherry Blossom Festival being held on a Sunday but only wished to emphasise that Sunday is maintained as a sacred and holy day by Christians.
“We cannot prevent anyone from organising any event on a Sunday,” KJCLF secretary, Rev Edwin Harris Kharkongor, said here on Sunday.
He said that the Cherry Blossom Festival ought to be celebrated in a spirit of peace and community participation and that it should be free from disruptions or disturbances.
Earlier, Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh had sniffed a political motive behind the move to oppose the Shillong Cherry Blossom festival.
“I suspect that there is a political motive behind this move. There are forces, who are trying to impede the growth of tourism,” the minister had stated.
A delegation under the banner of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) had expressed opposition against the decision to conclude the festival on a Sunday.
The JAC consists of pressure groups from Ri-bhoi district — Meghalaya People United Front, Ri-Bhoi Youth Organization, United Hynniewtrep Movement, Saindur Tipkur Tipkha Ehrngiew Hynniewtrep and Meghalaya People’s Social Organization.
In the past, several NGOs and political parties had registered protest.
In 2011, there was strong opposition against the move of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) to conclude the Shillong Autumn Festival on Sunday. Regardless, the festival as slated.

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