Country’s first Cherry Blossom Festival launched in Meghalaya

“This nature’s gift of cherry blossoms blooming in Meghalaya must be appreciated. It is one of the several elements that makes Meghalaya an attractive destination for tourists,” Sangma said at the inaugural address.

He acknowledged the role of Manipur-based Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), a National Institute of Department of Biotechnology, for joint conceptualisation and implementation of the tourism project. IBSD director D Sahoo said this event will create a number of opportunities for the people of Meghalaya and emphasised that collaborations should be developed with Japan, which is famous worldwide for its cherry trees, so that foreign tourists can visit the North East region. 

Informing that 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development as declared by the United Nations, Sahoo said, “We must plan for the future editions of this festival in a bigger way well in advance and inform the world that such activities are also possible in India.” 

Prof Dinabandhu Sahoo, Director IBSD, who conceptualized the Cherry Blossom Festival in India for the first time told that this event would create a number of opportunities for the people of Meghalaya. He assured the people of Meghalaya that IBSD is committed to the socio-economic development of the region and this partnership is only one of several initiatives that are focussed on sustainable utilisation of the unique bioresources of the state. 

He thanked all the people for their active cooperation and requested the people to visit Meghalaya, as the festival will end on 17th November 2016. On this occasion, the Hon’ble Chief Minister released a coffee table book entitled ‘Cherry BlossomSakura for Peace, Prosperity and Sustainable Development’ written by Sahoo.