Hornbill Car Rally in Nagaland

Rally kicks off amid complaints of poor organization:

Kohima, Dec 6: The two-day Hornbill Rally 2007, organised as part of the Hornbill Festival, was flagged off on Thursday here at Tourist Lodge, Kohima by Khuputo Shohe, president Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association (NAMSA).

Altogether 13 teams are taking part in the rally, organized by Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association (NAMSA). The rally, comprising Gypsies, Balenos and Esteems, will cover a distance of 160 km.

Officials from Motorsports Association of India (MAI) are in the state, assisting the smooth functioning of the event and to adhere to all the National Competitions Rules. The title sponsors of the state government and co-sponsored by JK Tyres and Industries Limited.

The participants, those coming from outside Nagaland to take part in the Hornbill Rally, expressed disappointment over the arrangement in Nagaland and complained that the services provided by the organizers was not up to the standard.

"The rooms provided to us don't have basic amenities. There were no room service, no water and provided with only one blanket (quilt)", said one of the participants. He also told newspersons before the start of the rally that "if the rally is organized in this manner, I am afraid, participants from various part of India might opt out next time".

He also rued that the overall arrangement was too poor to hold a rally, adding the organizers too were not punctual. Further he expressed dismay over the road conditions and the traffic regulations.

The indifference of the organizers came to forefront, even before the start of the rally, when one the organizers was heard shouting "we have organized in hap-hazard manner, please bear with us".

When contacted the NAMSA also admitted there could be some minor problems here and there, but ‘’it should not be a failure on our part, we are doing best for the conduct and success of the rally.’’

They also said that the Tourist Lodge, where they (participants) were putting up seemed to be in a shabby state of affairs, with no officials from tourism department, present at the lodge.

This came to light when the newspersons, who had gone to cover the function, were told that there were no person(s) present now, all are busy now at Hornbill Festival Kisama.

With all these reasons being put-forth to tourism department, a senior officer assured to look into the matter at the earliest with seriousness.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsport Division, JK Tyres & Industries said, "We are proud to be associated with Nagaland Government and NAMSA for the event. The Hornbill Rally will be responsible for heralding a new era in this popular sport in the State that is growing by leaps and bounds".

He said the JK Tyre took upon itself to promote motorsport in India and invested huge resources in nurturing the budding talents and developing infrastructure. On the first day, Along Aier and co-driver Hatba Wangnao of Dimapur were in the lead by 45 seconds over their nearest rival Khushwant Randhawa and Amritpal Singh from Delhi.

Source: Nagaland Post