The annual Hornbill festival here, which begins on Thursday, gets international recognition as participants from many counties have confirmed their participation in the Hornbill International Car Rally being organized for the second consecutive year.
Divided into three categories, the rally is jointly sponsored by the Nagaland government and J K Tyres as an event of the week-long Hornbill festival, a tourism promotion extravaganza in the state.
The festival will formally inaugurated by Governor Nikhil Kumar at Kisama heritage village, a permanent venue for the annual event about 12 km south of this capital town.
The festival aims at showcasing entire gamut of Naga life and culture under a single roof to attract visitors by promoting the event as ‘Festival of Festivals.’
Abu Metha, president of Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association, the organizer of the car rally, informed that over 80 participants from various parts of India and countries such as UK, Japan, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Myanmar are taking part in the competitions, divided into two categories.
The total prize money for the car rally is Rs 15 lakh and the time-speed-distance (TSD) event will kick starts in the morning of December 2 from Indira Gandhi stadium here. Besides the competition, a World War-II vintage jeep rally will be organized like the previous year to spread the message of peace and futility of violence.