Shillong cancels Cherry Blossom Festival as well as all other festivals, know why

As per the latest development, the Meghalaya state government has cancelled the Cherry Blossom Festival. With regard to this, Meghalaya Chief Minister announced that all festivals, upcoming and ongoing, in the state will now stay cancelled.

As per the latest news reports, this is because of the incident that took place on November 22, 2022, at the Assam-Meghalaya border, which led to violence and killings of 4 people.
As such, the 2nd Edition of the Shillong Literary Festival, which was part of the Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2022 at Ward’s Lake Shillong, has also been cancelled following the violence and killings in the West Karbi Anglong district of Assam, which is close to the border with Meghalaya.

If reports are to go by, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma after the incident, called for an emergency along with the village headmen and religious leaders and announced to call off the 2nd edition of the Shillong Literary Festival.
The Chief MInister tweeted, “As a mark of respect & mourning for the deceased, the State Govt has decided to cancel all official festivals including the Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival, Hon’ble Home Minister, @LahkmenR has reached the spot of the incident & FIR has been registered by the @MeghalayaPolice.”

Also, as per a notification by the Meghalaya Police, internet services have been suspended temporarily, however, one can access the Internet via WIFI routers if they are in the state. Reportedly, the Shillong Literary Festival began on Monday, but was cancelled due to unfortunate incidents.

As such, following the border tension, events and festivals within the city have been cancelled to prevent any untoward incident.