'Dwijing Festival' kick starts at AIE River Park in Chirang District

Guwahati/Chirang: The much awaited and anticipated Dwijing Festival begun today at the AIE River Park, Hagrama Bridge at Chirang under Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The festival which is in its 3rd edition this year was inaugurated by Rihon Daimary, Minister of PHE, Government of Assam.

Addressing the occasion, Minister Rihon Daimaray said, “Today, on its 3rd year of inception, the festival has created benchmarks for itself. We have people coming from all parts of the country-both national and international. In the coming years, we aspire every individual to know about this festival and make Aie River a tourist hub for the nation.

Also, Gautam Talukdar, Deputy Commissioner of Chirang District and President of the Dwijing Festival 2018-19 hoisted the flag of the event.

The festival will continue till January 7, 2019.

The day began with flagging off a marathon race from Chapaguri to AIE River by International Boxer L Sarita Devi (Arujana Awardee). It was followed by the inauguration of Food stalls by Chandan Brahma, Minister of Tourism and WPT & BC, Government of Assam.

Rest of the day witnessed the opening of Bodo Traditional House, Bookstall, Traditional stage, Adventure Sports, Dwijing Night camp, Demonstration and opening of Rifle Shooting, Jeep and Elephant Safari etc.

The second half of the day witnessed cultural programs from various tribes and traditions, firecracker show, performances from Bangladesh, Performace by Singer Anaya Brahma, a Band performance by Famous singer Kailash Kher, International performances etc.

It may be mentioned that the day one of the festivals saw people in huge numbers.

Earlier, the official announcement of the Dwijing Festival was made in a press conference at Novotel, Guwahati by Minister of Tourism, Chandan Brahma and Chairman, ATDC, Jayanta Malla Baruah.

Minister of Tourism, Chandan Brahma, told the media, “We are extremely glad to announce the 3rd edition of the Dwijing Festival. This festival was started in the year 2016 with an aim to promote the local tourism and culture of BTC. Today when we have reached the 3rd edition of the Festival, we plan to make it one of the biggest ever and establish it as an annual calendar event at the national and international level.”

It may further be mentioned that with the target of promoting River Tourism in the Rural Areas of BTC and the State, the festival was initiated in the year 2016-17 under the moniker of “AIE RIVER WINTER FESTIVAL” on the bank of river Aie in the Chirang district of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). Later in 2017-18, the name was changed to “DWIJING” meaning “RIVER BANK” and it became the annual River Festival of the region. The association of the Hagrama Bridge, the longest rural river bridge of the state, with the festival further resulted in the increase of visitors to the festival.