SHILLONG, NOV 9: Tyrso, a remote village along the inter-state border in Ri Bhoi district is all set to organize the second edition of the Amur Falcon Festival to preserve wildlife and giving a much needed boost to tourism.The two-day festival will be held from November 11 to 12 even as the villagers have acknowledged that the migration of the Amur Falcon birds to this part of the state have been a “blessing in disguise” to the farming community.
Moreover, Tyrso, which is about 70 kilometers away from here, and its surrounding areas is also looking forward to showcase the rich culture and tradition of the place to tourists coming to the festival.
Hundreds of tourists including birdwatchers from across the country have visited the place to see the migratory birds, which visit the place for a month before migrating to other parts, from October 31.
“Through the festival we aimed at preserving these birds and ensure their visit to our place is not disrupted,” Mawhati MLA Julius Dorphang told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.
Stating that the festival will also act as a catalyst to make people aware of the importance of preserving wildlife, he said, “When the birds first migrated here, people from other districts used to come and killed them, but we decided not to allow it anymore.”
He informed that the Tyrso Valley Wildlife Protection Society (TVWPS) was also formed last year to ensure the birds stay in the village is not interrupted by such activities.
TVWPS secretary Alos Nongpoh said that the village heads after being sensitized through awareness programme have decided to issue warning against killing of the birds.
He said that the festival will enable the place to enter the tourist map even as he informed that tourists and birdwatchers from Goa, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country have already visited the place recently.
Apart from tourism, Nongpoh said that the coming of the birds have also been a blessing in disguise for the farming community.
“They (birds) are farmer-friendly they don’t destroy crops but instead protect them as they only eat insects,” he said while informing that village has planted over 2000 bamboos with the support of forest department just for the birds.
Dorphang, however, added that road is an important aspect in as far as promoting tourism which can improve the livelihood of the people of the area.He informed the government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for construction of 9 km out of 13 km katcha road leading to Tyrso.-By Our Reporter
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