The picturesque Naga Heritage Village at Kisama, the main venue for Nagaland’s iconic Hornbill festival, wore a deserted look today as the government cancelled the day’s events in solidarity with the killing of civilians in Mon district.
The Hornbill festival, an annual ten-day extravaganza in which different tribes of the state showcase their traditions, began on December 1.
Thousands of tourists from across the country and abroad were participating in the festivities. Diplomats from several nations, including the US, Germany and Australia, were also taking part in the festival.
The 10-day Hornbill Festival, the state’s largest tourism extravaganza held at Naga Heritage Village in Kisama near the state capital, was scheduled to end on December 10.
During an emergency meeting, the cabinet was briefed about the action taken following the killing, including setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an IGP rank officer and grant of ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased by the state and central governments, ministers Neiba Kronu and Temjen Imna Along later told reporters.
How the Nagaland Civilians’ get killed ?
Kronu said that altogether 14 civilians died in the incident, while two seriously injured are undergoing treatment in neighbouring Assam, and six are being treated in Dimapur.
The firing incidents took place in Oting-Tiru area on 4 December and Mon town on 5 December.
“All activities of Hornbill Festival 2021 should cease in view of mourning announced for the deceased in the firing incidents in Mon district,” Kronu said.
Officials said that the situation in the state, where people had taken to the streets in protest against the firing, was “tense but calm.”
Rio, while attending the funeral of the 14 civilians in Mon town on Monday had joined a growing chorus of demands seeking the repeal of the AFSPA that gives special powers to security forces in ‘disturbed areas’.