Mizoram is gearing up for the Winter Festival as part of the state government’s efforts to establish the state as the “Winter Capital of India”, officials said. The Organising Committee for the festival met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Lalduhoma to discuss preparations for the event. Addressing the meeting, Lalduhoma said, “We are actively working to establish Mizoram as the ‘Winter Capital of India’, and our most prominent initiative toward this goal is the Winter Festival,” the chief minister said.

He said that the festival would serve as a platform to showcase and promote entrepreneurship in the state. Although the festival is being spearheaded by the Tourism Department, its success would require coordination among various government departments, Lalduhoma told the meeting. He directed departments to identify and take responsibility for activities that could be undertaken within their respective areas.

Several events have been planned as part of the Winter Festival, including an angling event by the Fisheries Department, a bamboo innovation exhibition by the Commerce and Industries Department, and a photography exhibition by the Information and Public Relations Department, according to officials. The festival will also feature Christmas street decorations, a Christmas parade and several other programmes.

Tourism Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar and officials from various government departments attended the meeting. Mizoram recorded a tourist footfall of over 5.37 lakh during the period spanning between January and June this year. Hmar had last week informed the state Assembly that more than 5.28 lakh domestic tourists from different states and 8,700 foreign visitors visited the state during the period. Officials said that the arrival of tourists has significantly increased in the state after the opening of the Bairabi-Sairang railway line, which linked the state capital Aizawl with the rest of the country through a rail network in September last year.