ITANAGAR, 13 Sep: Liromoba MLA Pesi Jilen and Information and Public Relations Director Gijum Tali launched the promotional video of the 4th Darak Ecotourism-Cum-Angling Festival 2025 here on Saturday.
The event will be held from 12 to 14 October.
The two-minute video features former Miss Arunachal and social media influencer Tengam Celine Koyu as the ambassador of the ecotourism-cum-angling festival.
For the first time, the organizing committee has introduced a women’s category in the angling competition. The prize money for both the men’s and women’s categories of the event will be the same amount.
Speaking at the event, the MLA highlighted Darak’s tourism potential and assured that he would pursue the state government to approve and make the ecotourism-cum-angling festival one of the annual calendar events of the state government.
The IPR director recalled his participation in the first edition of the event in 2019 during his tenure as DIPRO in West Siang and shared his experience of catching a golden mahseer at Darak. He emphasized the need for making documentary films on various tourist sites in Darak to showcase them to the outside world, for which, he said, he would extend all possible help in the future.
Darak is located at the confluence of the Siik and the Sibu rivers, home to various fish species, but for angling lovers, the place is a hub of three mahseer species – the golden mahseer, called the ‘king of Himalaya rivers’, the copper mahseer, and the chocolate masher – which attracts anglers.
Darak is 35 km from Aalo, the district headquarters of West Siang, and 17 km from Kamba. It is a five-decade-old circle headquarters, falling under the Liromoba assembly constituency.
The ecotourism-cum-angling festival in Darak started in 2019 and was organized by the Young Mission Adventure Club, in collaboration with the Lodu Ao Welfare Society and the Arunachal Anglers’ Forum. The aim of the event is to conserve fish species, promote adventure tourism, generate employment, and economically uplift the locals of Darak.
Apart from the angling competition, recreational and adventure activities like water rafting on the Siik river, camping, trekking, and bird watching form part of the festival, where participants can also enjoy local cuisines and folk culture.
Jummo Potom, the general secretary of the 4th edition of the festival, invited people from all walks of life to the festival.
The event was attended by former Galo Welfare Society president JM Boje and GWS general secretary-cum-chief adviser of the Darak Ecotourism-Cum-Angling Festival 4.0 Nyakar Raksap.
Meanwhile, a tourism website developed and designed by the 4th edition of the Darak Angling Committee was launched in Aalo by West Siang District Tourism Officer (DTO) Dikchu Raji and DIPRO Dagi Angu.
The DTO highlighted the tourism potential in Darak, like adventure tourism, religious tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, and nature-based biodiversity tourism. He emphasized the need for creating a tourist-friendly environment among the local masses in terms of hospitality and basic homestay facilities.
The DIPRO suggested adopting proper IEC ethics, establishing good rapport, and networking with officials in the district to propel the tourism endeavour in Darak.
