Festival rekindles India-Bhutan cultural ties

Despite the state government's criticism of Bhutan forreleasing excess floodwaters during the monsoon ~ an action blamed for inundating parts of Alipurduar ~ the tourism fraternity in North Bengal has taken a constructive step to restore warmth in Indo-Bhutan ties. In a unique initiative, stakeholders have organised the Dukpa Living Heritage Festivalin Alipurduar to revive cross-border cultural relations.

- MANAS BANNERJEE

Meanwhile, Indo-Bhutan diplomatic engagement has also gained momentum at the national level. The first meeting of the Project Steering Committee on the India—Bhutan Rail Links project was held in New Delhi on Friday. The meeting was co-chaired by Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), and Karma Wangchuk, Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Bhutan.

The discussions focused on implementation modalities for the two proposed rail corridors~ Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse. Senior officials from the Ministry of Railways and the state governments of Assam and West Bengal also participated.

On the cultural front, the Dukpa Living Heritage Festival ~ initiated by Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT) with support from the Alipurduar district administration ~ seeks to celebrate the timeless cultural and ecological links between North Bengal and Bhutan. The Indo-Bhutan corridor, stretching from Buxa to the Bhutan highlands, has historically been a vibrant zone of shared traditions, forest-based livelihoods, sacred spaces, festivals, and kinship networks.