Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, K. Libathung Lotha, IAS declared the three-day Tokhu Emong Mini Hornbill festival celebration open on 5th November 2022 at the local ground, Wokha as the special guest.

Libanthung called for the preservation of our age-old traditional practices, customs, and cultures to keep their identity alive. He said, "let us not dwell on our negative past events and situations but it is time to move forward having the feeling of unity, love, and forgiveness to build a better and blessed time for our younger generation."

He also reminded the Lotha people that they are blessed with rich fertile land having the ability to sustain agricultural, horticultural, and other varieties of plant growth which he opined would result in sustained and consistently high yields of quality agricultural products. He urged the people to utilize the natural resources to the fullest extent and also appealed to have accountability to protect and respect their environment.

The first day of the festival witnessed folk song by the Wokha Town Akuk Eloe cultural troupe, folk dance by N.Longidang cultural troupe, Tug-Of-War (Khvuro-Zhutssungta), and an indigenous cooking competition which was participated by 15 groups from Eloe Ekhung from different colonies, villages, and SHGs.

(Zubenthung, IA Wokha)