8th Kaziranga Elephant Festival from Jan 3

BOKAKHAT, Dec 21 – The Eighth Kaziranga Elephant Festival will be held from January 3 to 6 next year at Mihimukh, Kohora. The decision in this regard was taken at a meet held recently at the Centenary Convention Centre of the State Forest Department at Kohora under the chairmanship of Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain where other officers from the Forest Department, local civil administration, the managing director of Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), public representatives and other dignitaries were also present. MK Mahanta, general secretary of the organising committee of theElephant Festival, explained the purpose of the meet.

Significantly, the schedule of the festival will henceforth be included in the tourism calendar of the State Government. The MD of the ATDC assured that necessary arrangements would be made in this regard. Another significant decision was taken to build a permanent structure at Mihimukh for theelephant festivals for which the ATDC sanctioned an initial amount of Rs 10 lakh.

Besides the traditional programmes, some adventure sports, SHG mela, a food mela and a seminar on man-elephant conflict will be some of the highlights of the forthcoming festival. Meanwhile, a number of sub-committees have been formed for the festival, MK Mahanta, the general secretary of the organising committee said. THE SENTINEL