IMPHAL, November 1: The post harvest festival of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo was today kicked off by Chief Minister, O Ibobi Singh, amidst rich traditional extravaganza at the 1st Manipur Rifles battalion, Imphal organized by the state level Kut committee.
Delivering his chief guest speech, the Chief Minister urged the entire communities settled in the state to respect the sentiments of one another and refrain from taking up activities that could harm the interest of the general populace or another community however legitimate their demand or objective might be.
He said that it is obvious that solving a problem is time consuming however a solution should always be brought to any problem.
The government is well aware of and respect the sentiments of the various communities residing in the state and does not have any intention to hurt the people’s sentiments, he further stated.
Chief Minister O Ibobi further appealed to the entire populace not to forget their identity of being a Manipuri.
He urged the people not to create division among one another but to foster the sense of brotherhood keeping aside caste, creed and all differences.
He also wished the people that the festival of Kut marked the new beginning of peace and prosperity in the state.
The festival was officially declared open by the Chief Minister O Ibobi before releasing the Kut, 2011 souvenir.
Power minister Phungzathang Tonsing presided over the inaugural function of the celebration as functional president while health minister L.Jayentakumar attended as the guest of hounour. Lianzakap acted as the traditional chief host or ‘Kut Pa’ of the Kut 2011 celebration.
Performances from various cultural troupes belonging to different ethnic groups of the state, traditional round for the Miss Kut beauty pageant, one minute silence observation in memory of the departed Kut committee’s leaders etc marked the inaugural function of this year’s Kut celebration.