KOKRAJHAR, April 19 � The third Baokhungri Festival organised by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) at the foothills of Baokhungri near Kokrajhar town concluded recently with the prize distribution ceremony.
The main objective of organising this festival was to focus on the traditions and culture of the Bodo tribe and to make a proper road map for Baokhungri hill to enlist it as a tourist spot in the world. The festival showcased the rich and vibrant culture and tradition of Bodo tribes.
The festival which got under way on April 13 concluded on Tuesday with huge flow of visitors from the north-eastern States as well as many other States from all over India. Ethnic food, hill trekking and indigenous games held at the festival attracted the people.
In the hill trekking competition on the hill top of Baokhungri, over 200 participants took part from various districts of Assam and from Punjab, Tripura and West Bengal etc. The trekking competition was organised separately for men and women. The winners in both the categories got a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh while the 2nd and 3rd position winners were given Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000. Consolation prizes of Rs 5,000 were given to holders of the 4th to 10th positions.
Kiranjit Kaur of Bhatinda of Punjab got the 1st prize in women�s category. She finished the 5 km rough hill trekking in less than 35 minutes. Last year also she had got the first prize. Mafuar Ahmad of Guwahati got the second prize and Mina Bordoloi of Jagiroad, Morigaon, who received the second prize last year got the 3rd prize this year. The best 10 position holders who received Rs 5,000 each were Pranati Basumatary of Baksa, Rabika Mashahary of Baksa, Surjya Banu of Kamrup (Rural), Rebina Boro of Baksa, Roshmi Boro of Morigaon, Bhanu Deka Bordoloi of Dibrugarh and Himakhi Boro of Baksa district.
In the men�s category, the 1st prize went to Sampak Rabha of Kamrup (Rural). He finished the trekking in 27.47 minutes against 28.16 minutes of last year�s winner followed by Dipak Ray of Tripura (28.01 minutes) and Kuldip Kumoun of Punjab (28.09 minutes). The top ten position holders� are � Duru Sarkar of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, Jaydul Islam of Guwahati, Bhupen Deka of Morigaon, Paradhar Deka of Morigaon, Ranjit Ramchiary of Baksa, Manjit Oria of Tinsukia and Phukan Borgoyary of Kokrajhar.
Similarly, the champion of �Gila� competition, Ghoshkata (A) of Kokrajhar received Rs 20,000 while 2nd position holder Ghoskhata (B) of the same district received Rs 10,000. In �Khomlainai�, Udalguri district got the first prize followed by Baksa and Kokrajhar. The �Khomlainai� competition was conducted in five categories for both males and females. The 1st prize winners were given Rs 10,000 each while the 2nd and 3rd rank holders were given Rs 5,000 and 2,500 respectively.
