Aizawl: The residents of Mizoram-Myanmar
border village Kawlbem, who used to organised New Year
community feasts only with wild animals, have feasted on
domestic animals for first time this year.
Range Officer of Environment and Forest department's
Lengteng Forest Range said the change of habit came after the
department made an appeal to the people.
The villagers have never had New Year community feasts
without a wild animal since 1982.
The village of 268 houses and a population of 1,650
has five churches - Presbyterian Church, United Penticostal
Church, Evangelical Baptist Convention, Assembly of God Church
and Catholic Church - which celebrated New Year separately.
"Each church would appoint hunters to kill wild
animals for the community feasts and there was no dearth of
wild boars, barking deer, deer and other animals," village
council President H Thanglura said.
The village lies near Lengteng Wildlife Sanctuary
where assortment of wild animals are found and Thanglura
claimed that wild animals inside the sanctuary are not killed.
"They decided to organise feasts with domestic animals
this time after appeals from state Environment and Forest
department," he said.
State environment and forests minister H Rohluna, who
was inducted in the government in December 2008, hails from
this village.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 07, 2010, 18:08