'Hornbill Festival' 2019 breaks all previous footfall records

The ongoing 'Hornbill Festival' of Nagaland has broken all previous records of footfall as more than 2.54 lakh people have visited the ethnic Naga cultural event, an official said on Tuesday.

The 'Hornbill Festival', a major annual function that showcases the culture, arts, artefacts, handicrafts and food of Nagaland is held every year from December 1 to 10 at Kisama village here.

Assistant director of Nagaland Tourism department, Toka E Tuccumi said till the penultimate day of the ongoing 'Hornbill Festival' 2,54,217 visitors, which include 2,926 foreigners, 52,736 domestic tourists and 1,98,736 locals have visited the festival ground.

Last year 2,51,701 people had visited the 10-day long 'Hornbill Festival', the official said.

The festival which started on December 1 with the beating of the traditional gong by Governor R N Ravi and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will conclude on Tuesday.

Music Maestro A R Rahman will grace the valedictory function as the special guest.

Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh visited the 'Hornbill Festival' on Saturday and said participation of such a large number of people has not only boosted the economy but also enthused young Start-Up groups from across India to explore avenues of entrepreneurship and livelihood in this region.

Singh attributed the huge success of the event to the personal outreach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "who had brought Northeast to national focus in the last five years".

He said that Nagaland through the 'Hornbill Festival' will become the "torchbearer" of the new cultural journey of North East.

Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had also visited the festival ground on Saturday and said the festival depicted the rich cultural heritage of Naga people.

"People across the world have started to study the Hornbill festival," he said, adding that the Hornbill festival is a rare occasion where everyone can enjoy the ethnicity of the Nagas at one place.