Key Points

The 'Sun Rise Festival' is scheduled to be held in Arunachal Pradesh from December 29 to January 2.

CM Khandu took to X to make this announcement after he arrived at Walong in Anjaw district of the state.

"Landed in Walong, Anjaw district, and will be heading towards Dong - the place where the first Sun Ray touches Indian soil. To boost tourism and create new opportunities for adventurers & nature lovers, I am delighted to announce that from this year onwards we will be hosting a 5-day 'SUN RISE Festival' at Dong from Dec 29 to Jan 2," Khandu posted.

"Come, witness the first dawn of the New Year in the Land of the Rising Sun," he added.

Earlier, the North East Region (NER) Ministers' Conference on Civil Aviation 2025, along with the 3rd North East Aviation Summit, was held on Thursday in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

In the inaugural, Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, emphasised that transportation connectivity is the most critical sector for the development of the NER. In the last 10 years, aviation infrastructure and connectivity status of NER has seen unprecedented growth, said Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Having airports in Arunachal Pradesh was a long-cherished dream of the people, which got realised because of the active support of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the visionary leadership of the PM. Progress in creation of aviation infrastructure and path breaking schemes like UDAN have been instrumental in transforming the socio economic aspirations of the NE region.

Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu, emphasized the need for deepening Centre-State-Industry collaboration for the accelerated growth of the Civil Aviation sector in the North East Region. He emphasised that enhanced air connectivity is vital for improving accessibility to remote and border areas, promoting tourism, facilitating cargo and logistics, and driving industrial as well as socio-economic growth in Arunachal Pradesh and the North East Region. To realise its strong tourism potential, the North East Region should solve its connectivity challenges at a fast pace.

Also, there is a need for accelerating skilling initiatives for fast tracking employment generation among the youths of the region. An industry driven aviation ecosystem would be able to cater to both these needs.

The Minister expressed pride in informing that the number of operational airports in the region has grown from nine in 2014 to 16 at present. Aircraft movements have nearly doubled, while domestic passenger traffic has increased more than threefold since 2014.

- ANI