Assam's Spring Festival begins in Manas National Park
Guwahati, April 7: The two-day Assam Spring Festival began at the Manas National Park on Saturday where visitors will get to experience the state's local food, music, handloom and handicrafts.
"The aim of the event is to promote the local food and culture of the fringe villagers. It is an attempt to create a model of alternative livelihood through food, handloom and culture," Mitali from Food Sutra, one of the organisers, said.
"We are expecting participation of over 300 domestic and foreign tourists in the two-day festival."
The festival has been organised, among others, by Indian Weavers' Association and the Swankar Mithinga Onsai Afat, an association of reformed poachers in Manas who are now engaged in wildlife conservation and preservation.
The National park which is also a tiger and rhino reserve covers five districts of Assam -- Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri and Barpeta.
Residents of fringe villages that dot the National Park are all set to give the tourists an experience of a lifetime by offering them a peek into their rural lives.
Saumar.J. Sharma of the Indian Weavers' Association said: "We have trained about 32 households about maintenance of hygiene and the basics of the service industry. We trained them on managing home stays and serving the guests home made food.
"When the locals start keeping guests in their home stays, it will not only provide then with an alternative livelihood but also direct market linkages to showcase and sell their products.
"Normally in Assam, the tourist season is for six months (April to November). However, with these initiatives, the locals can host interested travellers during the off season or all through the year."
On Saturday, there will be a session of celebrity cooking with renowned chef Gautam Mehrishi and food blogger Kalyan Karmakar.
Musician Joi Baruah is slated to perform on Saturday night.
The itinerary of the festival include village tours, exposition of local handicraft and handloom, cultural showa, local folk music and tasting of local cuisines and delicacies.
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BJP issues show cause notice to MP Jayant Sinha for absence from voting and election campaign
Ranchi (PTI): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday slapped a show cause notice on former Union Minister Jayant Sinha for not taking part in campaigning after Manish Jaiswal was declared candidate from the Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat and thereby "maligning" the party's image.
Sinha, son of former union finance minister Yashwant Sinha, is the sitting MP of Hazaribagh.
"You are not taking any interest in organisational work and election campaigning ever since the party declared Manish Jaiswal as the candidate from Hazaribag LS seat. You did not even feel proper to exercise your right of franchise. The party's image has been maligned due to your conduct," BJP state general secretary Aditya Sahu said in the notice.
Sinha was conspicuous by his absence during polling in Hazaribag constituency on Monday.
The party has sought an explanation from Jayant Sinha within two days, following instructions from state BJP president and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi.
Asked about future course of action, Sahu told PTI that it would depend on Sinha's response.
Sinha did not respond to calls and messages in this regard.
Hours before the announcement that Jaiswal would be the candidate for Hazaribagh, Sinha had requested party leadership to relieve him from electoral politics.
In a post on X on March 2, the MP said he would continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues and wanted to focus his efforts on "combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world".
"I have had the privilege of serving the people of Bharat and Hazaribagh for the past ten years. Moreover, I have been blessed by the many opportunities provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP leadership. My sincerest gratitude to all of them. Jai Hind!" he had said in that post.
Hazaribag, a high-profile urban constituency in Jharkhand, was once represented by Yashwant Sinha and later his son, Jayant Sinha.
Sinha won the seat by a margin of 4.79 lakh votes, defeating Congress's Gopal Sahu in 2019.
Notably, Jaiswal had earlier contested from the Mandu assembly seat on a JVM ticket.
