This story first appeared in risingnepaldaily.com
Nepal could learn a lot of strategies of promoting the oranges of Gorkha from the policies taken by Arunachal Pradesh, the northernmost state of India. “Arunachal produces the best oranges in the country and we aim to increase production, so this festival has helped us in projecting our oranges at a bigger level,” said Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, in an interview with this scribe while inaugurating the Orange Festival of Music and Adventure (OFAM) at Dambuk, Dibang Valley, during 14th -18th December 2023.
One excellent tourism strategy that the Arunachal government has taken that Nepal Government can learn from is the way the OFAM is organised in Dambuk. This is in the Lower Dibang Valley which is one of the least populated districts of India. Arunachal government has initiated an annual function since 2015 which aims at boosting its economy by promoting tourism and selling one of its produces – orange – to the global market by popularising the fact that its taste and sweetness is better than oranges produced in other parts of India, even Nagpur. Oranges from Arunachal Pradesh, comparable to the oranges of Nagpur, are known for their delicacy only recently. Now these organic oranges are in high demand not only in the Middle East but in western countries and Japan.
Commercial promotion
The Arunachal government has been facilitating the hosting OFAM every year. To attract tourists, OFAM includes adventures involving off-road driving, zip lines, gas balloons, river rafting, trekking, cultural and traditional dances, Arunachal cuisine and an excellent musical live show of different genres targeted towards people of different age groups. This includes popular bands not only from India but from South Korea, USA, England and even Nepal. The experience of sipping orange juice, or local rice wines, munching oranges or other excellent delicacies in this remote but beautiful, romantic and tranquil town is something that everyone will cherish throughout their life.
Abu Tayeng, secretary of Sports and Youth Affairs, Arunachal has been the brain behind OFAM right from its inception and say that while in 2015 there was hardly any place to lodge guests and artistes with no private sector involvement, the year 2023 has big companies like JK tyres supporting the government initiative to promote oranges and tourism of this state. Arunachal Pradesh and all the states of the North East (NE) of India bear a lot of similarities with Nepal. Many of them have 20 to 30 per cent of Nepali origin residents and feel very proud of the fact that they are Indians, but they maintain their Nepali culture and heritage. They are also accepted fully as citizens there, who are part of the economy, politics and the society.
Arunachal Pradesh is landlocked and has snow-capped mountains, hills, and rivers like the Brahmaputra, which captures the minds of the nature lovers and the spiritually-inclined people. It is the state where the sun rays touch the Indian soil for the first time every morning and is known as the Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains. It lies in the Northeastern tip of India bordering China, Bhutan and Myanmar. It is in fact one of the remotest States of India. Given the sensitivity around border security of India, this remote Indian state has been neglected from mainstream development that other states of India have enjoyed. It also has border disputes with neighbouring State Assam. But now this is changing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government are credited for bringing policies and strategies to develop the NE States of India, especially Arunachal Pradesh, said a prominent journalist based in Kolkata. This statement was validated by CM Khandu, during an interaction with me. This festival was possible because of improvements in infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges during PM Modi’s tenure. He said that these infrastructure projects had helped in boosting Arunachal Pradesh’s economy. When asked about the stability of the state, he said that the dispute with China was now neutralised and the land dispute of state borders between Assam and Arunachal have been resolved.
Public mobility
The general people want to see development and, with the current government in seat, they feel this is possible. The Dr Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, which was inaugurated by Narendra Modi in 2017, is known as a major bridge between Dhola and Sadias Ghats. This bridge joins Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and the people of the two states feel that initiatives like this have helped in resolving land disputes between the two states and also providing a beam of hope for the people of the North Eastern states to build their economy and have more mobility within the region and country. This bridge is the first permanent road connection between northern Assam and Eastern Arunachal Pradesh. This bridge has also helped in boosting tourism in the region.
Lakhpa Tsering, one of the main organisers of the festival, said the private sector is now fully supporting to improving OFAM and making boost the economy of the State. He also shared that some of the key event managements like the off-road driving and other activities were managed by Nepali residents of Arunachal and Assam. He stressed that there was a big scope for promotion of tourism and different products between Nepal and Arunachal.