The festival’s logo being released. Picture by Sanjoy Hazarika

Festivities and conservation issues suffered a setback with the postponement of the Kaziranga Festival, scheduled to be held at Kohora and Agaratali at Kaziranga from January 5-7.

The festival, organised by Bokakhat subdivision and Assam Tourism Development Corporation, was postponed sine die due to the prevailing tense situation following protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, in the state, a source said.

The secretary of Kaziranga Festival, 2020, and the sub-divisional officer (civil), Bokakhat, Vivek Shyam, said in a press release that the new schedule would be announced later.

The logo for the event was released barely a fortnight ago.

The celebrations, initially named Elephant Festival, was started in 2002 to create awareness on the man-animal conflict and efforts to catalyse their coexistence.

The annual event had been suspended for the last few years, although no specific reason was attributed for this.

It was scheduled to be held in January next year with a change of name to Kaziranga Festival.

Earlier editions of the festival had seen the enthusiastic participation of local residents from the fringe areas of the national park, along with people from other parts of the state and outside, in great numbers.

The participation of foreign tourists was instrumental in spreading the good word about the world heritage site. The participation of large numbers of local residents ensured the fulfilment of the aim of the festival — community participation in conservation.

The festival committee, headed by Shyam and several sub-committees, had been preparing for the event in full swing.

Children from the local art schools had also begin painting the walls to beautify the festival ground at Kohora.

“We are ready to take part in the festival but the celebration committee postponed the programme for reasons best known to them,” said Swapan Nath, a local resident.

Tulshi Bordoloi, president of the Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association and a resident of Kohora, said the festival is significant for the development of tourism in Assam. “Since the footfall of tourists at the park is meagre since the anti-CAA protests began, the festival should be rescheduled as early as possible,” he added.

Pankaj Gogoi, owner of a local dhaba and a resident of Kaziranga, said organising the festival was the need of the hour for the development of Kaziranga and its fringe areas.

Nilu Acharrya, a Bokakhat resident, said: “The festival should have a fixed schedule every year.”