Angling Mela at Kakching today
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 26 2011: A day long Koichop (angling) Mela will be held on the eve of Ningol Chakkouba festival at Kakching Lake tomorrow from 8am till 2 pm.

Over 1000 men and women have reportedly registered to take part at the fair cum competition which will be inaugurated jointly by Members of Legislative Assembly of Kakching and Wangjing Tentha Y Surchandra and M Hemanta respectively.

Accordingly to the Organising Committee, the angling fee is set Rs 300 per head and first prize of best fishing will be given cash award of Rs 3000 plus all the fish caught by the winner.

Angling fair in connection with Ningol Chakkouba is said to be the first ever event in Manipur and it will be observed every year on the eve of the grandest festival of the Meiteis.

Ningol Chakkouba to be celebrated on October 28 this is a festival, during which parents and brothers invite daughters/sisters for meal and family reunion.

Male siblings offer best meal possible while female siblings attired in best dresses bring gifts and sweets.

Angling Mela has been planned for last two years by developing fish farms at Kakching Lake.

Over 100,000 pieces of indigenous fish "Pengba" and other varieties are being reared at the farm.

Kakching Lake at the foothills of Mamang Ching and Kakching Garden at Uyok Ching is a brainchild project initiated by MLA Y Surchandra, who was State Planning Commission Director for 10 years and District Collector for Imphal West.

Kakching Garden, of late has become a tourist spot and is highly expected that opening of Koichop Mela will attract many more tourists.

Kakching has nearly 20 thousand population and its people are known as Lois, meaning out-caste, who suffer caste segregation for centuries.

yet the state government denied constitutional provision of Scheduled Caste/Tribe until the verdict of Supreme Court of India in 1992 .

Time and again the people of Kakching faced caste discrimination and attempted to bar the constitutional provision given to Scheduled Caste/Tribes in spite of the Supreme Court verdict.

The latest challenge faced by the people of Kakching is the alleged attempt by the Manipur Government to revert Lois into Chakpa in SC/ST Presidential Order.

This will not only damage the SC status benefited by the people of Kakching but the history of Manipur will be twisted.

An NGO namely Citizens for Social and Justice is striving to serve and defend interest of all Scheduled Caste/Tribes of the state, with particular emphasis against the attempt of Manipur Government to revert Chakpa as a synonym of Lois, added a statement issued by the NGO convenor Madhu Chandra.

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