In a show of camaraderie among the people of the two Northeastern states living along the inter-state boundary, a ‘Border Festival’ was held at Lal Bahadur Shastri School playground at Bhalukpong on January 29.
The ‘Border Festival’, the first of its kind in the region, was organized by Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district administration in collaboration with its counterpart from Assam’s Sonitpur district.
This festival comes amid the ongoing border talks being held by the regional committees from both sides to resolve the decades-old inter-state boundary dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, as per the Namsai Declaration inked by the chief ministers of both states on July 15, 2022.
A slew of events, including a musical extravaganza involving noted singers from both sides, sports meet and exhibitions among others marked the festival, which got underway in the morning hours with the ceremonial flag hoisting by the circle officers of Bhalukpong (West Kameng) and Charduar (Sonitpur).
Present on occasion were Arunachal’s Thrizino-Buragaon MLA Kumsi Sidisow, Assam’s Sootea MLA Padma Hazarika, West Kameng DC Karma Leki, Sonitpur DC Deba Kumar Mishra, and administrative officers and Panchayat leaders from both districts, among others.
The Sports meet was inaugurated jointly by Thrizino ADC Topek Kakki and ADC Pankaj Nagbanshi. Exhibitions and cultural programmes were also organised.
In the musical show, Nahid Afreen from Assam and Jelly Kayi of Arunachal Pradesh – both contestants of the singing reality show Indian Idol Junior and Indian Idol Season 9 respectively – enthralled the crowd with their scintillating performances, sources added.
