Agartala: In a bid to attract more tourists to the state, Tripura chief minster Biplab Kumar Deb has stressed on the need of organising a Hornbill Festival-like event of Nagaland in Tripura in days to come.
Informing this, Animesh Das, director of national parks (wildlife), said that the government is initiating to boost the tourism sector in the state and in order to increase the number of tourists, a Hornbill-like festival has already been suggested by the chief minister of Tripura.
“Such kind of events would not only attract people from this region but also from foreign countries. Availability of a large number of hornbills in the state can make the event a success,” Das added.
Over 300 hornbills have already been spotted across the state this year. The species was identified as ‘Oriental Pied Hornbill’ (Anthracoceros albirostris).
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“For protection of the bird species, we are conducting awareness camps in various villages. The Indigenous people consider the birds as a sign of God and thus they do not harm them. Therefore, there are good chances of increasing the number of birds soon,” Das said, adding: “Hornbills take shelter in a special kind of trees and we are now planting more such trees to provide them enough space for shelter.”
Hornbill Festival is organised annually in Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, in the month of December. The event is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, which is about 12 km from Kohima. The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland.
For rearing and breeding, the Tripura forest department has also kept the ‘Oriental Pied Hornbill’ at Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in Sepahijala district.
