GUWAHATI:
A 25-year-old runner from Nagaland won the Shirui Lily Half Marathon Men’s Open, on May 26. Organised as a part of the fourth edition of the annual Shirui Lily Festival, over 300 people participated in the 22-km run and it was Wede Tmero, 25, from Chizami village, Phek, Nagaland who won the race after clocking the distance in one hour thirty-one minutes and seven seconds.
While Manipur’s H Ngapulou, 22, from Liyai Khunou, Senapati district, secured the first runner-up position, 19-year-old Manoubi Singh from Pachim Lanka Gaon, Baluhandar Hojai, Assam became the second runner-up.
The half marathon was flagged off by former Manipur education minister T Radheshyam Singh in the presence of Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) president David K Shimray, and the prize-distribution ceremony was presided over by Hill Areas Committee (HAC) chairman MLA Dipu Gangmei, and Ukhrul ADC Chunglenmang Kipgen, who was special guest.
The day also saw a campaign rally for “Drug-free Manipur” along with a march for Kashong Timrawon, the local name for the state flower Shirui Lily.
During his speech, Singh expressed pleasure on being a part of the campaign rally for the ‘War on Drugs’ and implored the people to keep fighting the good fight to defeat drugs and substance abuse.
In his speech, TNL president David K Shimray shared his concern over the rampant substance abuse in the state and the threat it poses to the society. He also expressed contentment on seeing so many youths turning up for the campaign rally and encouraged them to continue striving to do what they can to make Manipur a drug free state.