NEW DELHI, Nov 11 - The 7th edition of the North East Festival held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre For The Arts (IGNCA) which concluded on Sunday, saw a footfall of two lakh people.
In the B2B sessions of buyer-seller meets for business, tourism and textile, the buyers outnumbered the sellers. Foodstalls were a hit once again, and some of the stalls did business between Rs 2-4 lakh in just three days, the organisers claimed.
As many as 40 foodstalls sold regional delicacies including pork dishes, black rice, flavoured teas, and iromba of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim. The cuisine of the North East is known for its rich aroma and the use of fresh herbs.
�When I see someone coming here, I say, if you haven�t seen the North East, you have not seen India,� Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju said during an event at the festival.
�The importance of the North Eastern region of India is that, as of today, it has something to offer for every young startup,� said Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh. �The response to the three-day event has been overwhelming and rather beyond expectation,� he said, adding that he keenly observed that many visitors to the three-day North East Festival were from Delhi or other parts of India.
�I ask the people from outside the region in an echo to Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s words that if you are tired, head to the North East and you will be refreshed. If you come to the North East, you will feel that it is like heaven on earth,� said Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Rameshwar Teli.
The fest saw fashion shows by designers from the North East, including Elizabeth (Meghalaya), Yura Mary (Arunachal Pradesh), Priyanka Pella (Sikkim), Adrianne (Manipur), Mehzabin (Assam), Bidyut Bikash (Assam), Adityam (Assam), Hasina (Meghalaya), Tokila (Manipur), Chandasmita (Assam), Jennyu (Arunachal Pradesh), Maxwell (Manipur), Bambi Kevichasa (Nagaland), which were highly appreciated by fashion connoisseurs.
The band Bleach Head won the winner�s title in the �Rock Battle� whereas The Iyer Project and boyband Sweat Mint were the first and second runners-up, respectively.
Popular singers Bipul Chhetri, Zubeen Garg, Papon and Zublee also enthralled the audience with their performances. The fest also had 100 stalls of authentic and exotic handloom products.
