SHILLONG: The officials of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) visited the Khasi Heritage Village on Monday, which is close to the well-known sacred grove at Mawphlang village. They visited the location to take stock of the preparations for the upcoming Monolith Festival 2023 which is scheduled to take place in the month of December.
Pyniaid Sing Syiem, the chief of KHADC, along with Lamphrang Blah, the chairman of the council, Victor Ranee, the executive member in charge of arts and culture, Hima Mawphlang officials, and state government representatives, carried out the inspection of the venue.
Speaking with reporters, Pyniaid Sing Syiem disclosed that the district council had received approval from the state government's Department of Tourism to host the Monolith Festival at the Khasi Heritage Village, which is home to the traditional buildings of the 53 Himas and serves as a showcase for the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous Khasi community of the state of Meghalaya.
According to him, the district council will fund the celebration with Rs 50 lakhs from their own budget. Pyniaid Sing Syiem also expressed his satisfaction with the preparations and mentioned that only a few tasks remained, such as maintaining the children's park, the pathways, and the traditional buildings at Mawphlang's heritage village.
He continued by saying that Rs. 4 crores had been approved by the PWD (Roads) department to repair the road that leads to the traditional village from Mawngap to Mawphlang expressing hope that the same will be done as soon as possible.
The state of Meghalaya, especially the tourism department is known to organise several festivals in the winter months to attract a large number of tourists from across the country. The Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival, the Me.gong Festival and the Hills Festival are some of the key tourism events hosted by the state.
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