Low turnout marks opening day
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 21 2017:
Even though the 8th edition of the Manipur Sangai Festival was opened today by PresidentRam Nath Kovind amidst much fanfare, the attendance at BOAT was much lower than what was expected.
A large number of seats in the rear section of the open air theatre were found empty during the opening ceremony.
A considerable number of people found inside the theatre were security personnel who were deployed there for security reasons.
After watching a choreographic presentation by students of JN Manipur Dance Academy for about 10 minutes, the President left the venue.
Governor Dr Najma Heptulla and Chief Minister N Biren too left the venue accompanying the President and they were followed by Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
Soon after, WIPs and VIPs including Ministers and MLAs left the venue even as the choreographic presentation was going on.
It appeared that the choreographic presentation failed to enthral a large section of the crowd particularly WIPs and VIPs.
Not long after, the theatre was half empty even though the choreographic presentation was yet to be completed.
The opening ceremony came alive when a group of acrobatic performers entered the stage amidst
the choreographic presentation.