Shirui Lily Festival 2025
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Shirui Lily Festival 2025

Context:

The Manipur government’s Department of Tourism organised the 5th State-level Shirui Lily Festival 2025 to promote both tourism and conservation.

More on the News

  • The Shirui Lily Festival is being held again after a two-year pause due to prolonged ethnic conflict in Manipur.
  • This marks the first major tourism event hosted by the state since the conflict began in May 2023.

About the Shirui Lily Festival

  • The festival was first held in 2017 as one of two major state-sponsored tourism festivals.
    • The other is the Sangai Festival, named after the Manipur brow-antlered deer (state animal).
  • The festival is named after the Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae), Manipur’s state flower.
  • The Shirui Lily Festival honours the delicate and endangered Lilium Mackliniae, which blooms only in the Shirui Hills — a region that cannot support replanting elsewhere.
  • The festival coincides with the flower’s peak blooming season, highlighting its ecological significance.
  • This celebration provides a platform for diverse communities and tribes to unite, explore Ukhrul’s stunning landscapes, and gain insights into the indigenous Tangkhul Naga tribe. 
  • The festival aimed at eco-tourism, promoting both tourism and conservation awareness.

Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae) 

  • The Shirui Lily is endemic to the upper reaches of the Shirui Hill range in Ukhrul district at an elevation of 2,673 m above sea level.
  • It is locally known as Kashong Timrawon, linked to the mythical goddess Philava.
  • The Shirui Lily blooms from April to June. 
  • It was first discovered in 1946 by Dr. Frank Kingdon Ward and named after his wife, Jean Macklin. 

Threats to the Shirui Lily

  • This flower is already classified as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
  • A 2015 study led by ICAR scientists cited multiple threats:
    • Climate change
    • Human encroachment
    • Over-exploitation of natural resources
    • Invasion by wild dwarf bamboo, which chokes the soil with its dense root system.
  • Conservation Efforts:
    • In 2015, 375 lab-grown lily plantlets were transplanted on Shirui Hill.
    • Led by Dr. Manas Sahoo, the effort successfully validated genetic micropropagation techniques.

Other attraction in Ukhrul Manipur:

  • Kangkhui Lime Caves: These prehistoric limestone caves are archaeological treasures, revealing evidence of Stone Age habitation.

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