Itanagar Tourism and Travel Guide
History: Itanagar The diocese of Itanagar is in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the North East. Erected on Dec. 07, 2005, it comprises of the civil districts: Tawang, West Kameng, East Kameng, Papum Pare, Upper Subansiri, Lower Subansiri, Kurung Kamay, West Siang, East Siang, and Upper Siang.
The new diocese of Itanagar, bifurcated from Tezpur has an area of 52,288 sq. kms., with 1,01,689 Catholics, 11 parishes, 3 diocesan priests, 22 religious priests, 10 religious brothers
and 40 religious sisters. The parish of St. Joseph in Itanagar is the Cathedral of the new diocese and St. Joseph is the Patron of the diocese.
The first Bishop of Itanagar, Bishop John Thomas Kattrukudiyil, was born in 1948, ordained priest in 1975 and was appointed Bishop of Diphu in 1994. Bishop John has a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture and a Doctorate in Biblical Theology. He was for many years a formator in Seminaries and was also Rector of the regional Major Seminary in Shillong.
Itanagar Location: Itanagar is situated in the remote parts of north east corners of India.
Rainfall in Itanagar: 2660 mm. (July to October)
Climate of Itanagar: Summer: 40 °C- 18 °C
Winter: 12 °C – 5 °C
Best Time to Visit: October to April.
How to Reach Arunachal Pradesh?
By Air: The nearest airport is Lilabari (North Lakhimpur) in Assam, 57 kms from Naharlagun and 67 kms from Itanagar, served by Vayudoot. Indian Airlines operates direct flight from Calcutta to Tezpur (216 kms from Itanagar) on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
By Rail: The nearest railway station is Harmuty (near Banderdewa check gate) only 23 km from Naharlagun & 33 km from Itanagar. However nearest convenient railhead is North Lakhimpur in Assam, 50 km from Naharlagun & 60 km from Itanagar. Stations are served by No.9 and No.10 Arunachal Fast Passenger Trains and other local services.
Itanagar By Road: (Distance between Itanagar and Naharlagun is only 10 kms)
Itanagar is connected by road to: Guwahati – 381 km (Gohpur 79 -Ballipara 110 -Mission Charali 17 -Orang 53 -Baihata Charali 90 -Guwahati 32), Shillong – 481 km (Guwahati 381 -Shillong 100), Agartala – 980 km (Shillong 481 -Badarpur
211 -Agartala 288), Aizawal – 901 km (Badarpur 692 – Silchar 29 – Aizawl 180), Kohima – 350 km (North Lakhimpur 73 – Jorhat 69 – Dimapur 134 -Kohima 74) , Imphal – 495 km (Kohima 350 – Imphal 145). (Itanagar 1,539 Kms from Calcutta)
The air of festivity engulfs Arunachal Pradesh with the celebration of a series of festivals like Buddha Mahotsava in the month of October followed by Parasuram Kund Mela and Brahmaputra Darshan in January. The celebration culminates by organizing the festival of Arunachal commemorating the Statehood day on February 20 every year. This year the festival of Arunachal will be celebrated from February 11 to 20th 2003 with its great finale on Statehood day. Festival of Arunachal aims to capture the essence of Arunachal displaying the splendor of rich and diverse life of the people of the state. The cultural troupes from all districts will perform in the festival. It will provide an opportunity where the general public can participate enthusiastically and enjoy the festival. For providing an opportunity to all districts, their participation has been envisaged in various events. District Days will be observed on different days. One of the important components of festival is District Pavilions, displaying the best of the district in terms of handicrafts, arts, culture or economic development. Food festival, unveiling the choicest dishes of various tribes is expected to do a roaring business. The competition of the locally produced brew, apong etc. shall be an important highlight of the food festival. The flower show will display the rich bio-diversity of he state. The festival will not be complete without providing and opportunity to the people to witness the cultures of the various states of the country. The cultural teams from various zonal cultural centres are being invited to perform during the festival. The National School of Drama and Sangeet Natak Academy are also expected to perform during the festival. The exhibition stalls shall continue throughout the day. However, cultural events shall be held from 5.00 PM onwards everyday. The events shall be held simultaneously at the twin capitalties of Itanagar and Naharlagun.
Programme Highlights:
Departmental Stalls: One section will have developmental departments in various sectors showcasing the achievements of the State.
Trade Fair: It will be organized with the help of Arunachal Chamber of commerce and Industry and the Market Welfare Associations. Dealers covering the whole spectrum of consumer goods including various branded white goods will present products with festival discounts. No fee will be charged from them for the stalls. The interested traders can contact ADC Itanagar.
Handicrafts Expo: Director (Textiles and Handicrafts) will organize crafts Bazaar/Handicrafts Expo housing the best of handicrafts of the state with artisans carrying out live demonstration. Director (T&H), NGOs and other cooperatives actively involved in the production and marketing of handicrafts, will also set up stalls in this section.
ItanagarBio-diversity Festival: State Forest Research Institute (SFRI) will organize flower/orchid show and competition. Agriculture Deptt, horticulture Deptt, Zoological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, medicinal plants wing etc. will also take part. Apart from showcasing progress in the Horticulture mission/Floriculture mission, competition on quality fruits, vegetables, rice and other cereals will be organized.
Food Festival: Emphasis will be on the choicest local cuisine of the state and not just on typical Indian food. Choicest local brew/beer of a variety of cereals, vegetables and fruits will also be available with prizes for best brews.
Cultural Functions: Every evening during the Festival in IG Park Itanagar and in Naharlagun, cultural programmes will be held from 5.00 pm onwards. These programmes will be organized by Director (Art & Culture). The best of traditional cultural items from each of the districts will be performed by
cultural troupes to be sent from each district by the DCs. Cultural troupes from various zonal cultural centres will also participate to perform the best of traditional & classical dances of the country. Participation of Sangeet Natak Academy and National School of Drama is expected.
Fashion Show: Dir (T&H) will organize a fashion show with traditional patterns, motifs and designs of the local textiles. The NIFT designs of eri/munga silk will also be showcased.
Beauty Contest: The DC, Papum Pare District will organize a beauty contest with one participant from each of the 15 districts to be selected by respective DCs concerned.
Book Fair: The book fair will have books from National Book Trust including books on the north east. This being organized by the DC, Papum Pare District in association with NBT.
Sports festival: The sports festival will be organized by Director (Sports & Youth Affairs) with few events of modern sports & games such as marathon and football. The main emphasis will be on demonstrations of indigenous/traditional sports/games from each of the districts with atleast one traditional sport a day. Apart from this, demonstration of aerobics and a few other items will be done by Sangay Lhaden Sports Academy.
