Festival again

Enjoy food, fashion, handicrafts, music, dance, tourism and creative performances of the North East at the fifth edition of the North East Festival that will start on 3 November, says a report in the Dimapur-based Morung Express. The three-day festival will be held at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath. Most North-eastern states will present investment and tourism potential of the region.

Many tour operators and foreign tourists are expected to attend. There will be Naga warrior dance, Thang ta of Manipur, Hojagiri of Tripura, bamboo dance of Mizoram, Wangala dance of Meghalaya, Lion dance of Arunachal Pradesh among others. Artiste Ram Vijay Bhaona will showcase a mask presentation of Natum Kamalabari Sattra of Majuli, Assam and the rhythms of Manipur. Bringing together 150 weavers and artisans to show their magic, the fest is supported by the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation.

The extravaganza will also have a buyers-sellers meet and design weekend, showcasing the top designs of the North-east presented by the region’s models and celebrity showstoppers. Organic North East, an organic hub, will present various products of the region including food processing. Around 30 stalls will present the cuisine of the region. The creative souls can bask in the exhibition of North-eastern films, art and photography, graffiti and doodle art. There will also be storytelling sessions on famous folk tales of the region and tattoo artistes.

Another attraction will be the NEF Rock Battle, which will see the top rock bands of Delhi’s biggest colleges fight it out in a competition. The NEF Football Cup will also be organised. The evening will have performances by artistes, including Papon, Zubeen Garg, Alobo Naga, rapper Borkung Hrangkhawl, heavy metal bands Pulse Pandits, Girish & Chronicles, Traffic Jam, Avora Records, Lucid Reccess, Jelly Kayi, international DJ Teri Miko among others.

No garage, no car

Come November, it would no longer be possible to own a vehicle in Aizawl unless one has a garage, says a report in the Assam Tribune. The Mizoram Government is gearing up to impose a rule that makes garage mandatory for Aizawl residents to own any type of vehicles.”We have instructed local councils in all localities within the Aizawl Municipal Corporation to start inspecting if all vehicle owners in their jurisdictions have garages”, said an official from AMC. It was in 2010 that the State Assembly passed the Mizoram Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Rules, 2010 that makes garage mandatory for vehicle owners in Aizawl.

It has taken seven years for the government to finally enforce the rules. The Traffic Management Committee on 27 July last year had given vehicle owners one year to make garage. The move apparently was aimed at easing the growing traffic congestion in the narrow and winding roads of the state capital. The first city in the country to use Maruti cars as taxis because of its small size, Aizawl, which has a population of 3.5 lakh people, boasts of 1.25 lakh vehicles.