3rd Amur Falcon Festival from Nov 10

SHILLONG, Nov 7: The third Amur Falcon Festival, scheduled to be held at Tyrso village, Ri Bhoi district is an amalgamation of sensible thoughts. It will help protecting these migratory birds that can bolster wildlife tourism, besides acknowledging the role of these bird species that rejuvenate the farming community by helping them to get rid of the tormenting pests in the fields.
The two-day festival being organised by the Ri Bhoi-based Tyrso Valley Wildlife Protection Society (TVWPS) to celebrate the migration of Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis), known as Kbeit in Khasi, will begin from Friday. The objective of the festival is to preserve, protect the environment and to conserve the wildlife.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, TVWPS secretary A Nongpoh said, “The birds had started migrating to the region since 2013 and last year we did our level best to create awareness among the people to make them understand the importance of preserving and protecting these birds and not cause any harm by hunting them down.”
He informed reporters that there is no entry fee and that during the festival the organizers have lined up a number of programmes to entertain the public.
“We hope that through this festival a message will spread across the State to protect birds and stop hunting. We also hope that very soon this place will be etched on the map of India as a tourist hotspot,” he said.
Nongpoh further stated that through a number of awareness programmes it has been ensured that the birds do get to rest peacefully in the area for the news two weeks without any disturbance from the villagers.
The festival will feature traditional dances, indigenous food stalls, local folk songs and music, beside other attractions, he added.