Hornbill Festival day-2: ‘Don’t turn hornbill into mythological bird’

Our Correspondent
Kisama, Dec. 2 (EMN): Combat climate change and protect the environment, especially conserve the hornbill so that it doesn’t become a mythological bird, a dummy on paper or confined to the zoo, but thrives freely in nature, said Ravi Bhatnagar, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships, SOA, Reckitt.

The Hornbill Festival is named after the hornbill, a colourful bird that holds an important place in the folklore of most tribes in Nagaland.

Speaking on Day-2 of the ongoing 23rd edition of Hornbill Festival at Kisama Naga Heritage Village on Friday, as the chief guest, Bhatnagar expressed his admiration for Naga’s rich culture and underlined the need for preservation of indigenous population and their culture.

Talking about Reckitt, he said it recognises the importance of a healthy adolescent for a happy and healthier future and works for the global programme, and had partnered with the Government of Nagaland through its pan India partnership.

While acknowledging the government of Nagaland, Tourism department and a host of officials, he said Reckitt seeks to educate the adolescent between 10-19 years of age on life skill education and to reach out to 4 billion youth and adolescent across the north-eastern states.

Reckitt, which has launched ‘The Birds and Bees Talk’ programme in several north-eastern states including Nagaland, is the official health and hygiene partner of the Hornbill Festival 2022.

Bhatnagar also expressed delight over partnering with the Hornbill Festival, which he said is a good platform to reach out to the youth to enable a healthier and more progressive India without leaving anyone behind.

Nagaland is a pioneer in addressing, disseminating and reducing stigma among marginalised people with focus on inclusion equity, awareness, consent and protection, indicating a rich diversity and acceptance, he said.

He also witnessed the cultural presentations at the main venue with the host for the morning session, Mmhonlumo Kikon, Advisor for Information and Technology, Science and Technology, New and Renewable Energy, and several other officials.

Speaking to journalists later, Bhatnagar said Reckitt is partnering with the festival as advocacy tools to make sure that the voice reaches the right people.

Emphasising on active participation of the youth, he said Reckitt is in all the Aspirational districts of the Northeast and that it aspires to elevate the happiness index in the region among the youth.

He informed that The Birds and The Bees Talk programme has been going on in the Northeast for three years now.

Meanwhile, the Tourism updated that a total of 14,482 tourists, including 157 foreign and 3205 domestic were recorded on the inaugural day of the Hornbill Festival, while it was 11,095, including 221 foreign and 3985 domestic on day-2, taking the total visitors so far to 25,577 (including locals).