The three-day Tawang Festival, one of the much-awaited tourism and cultural events in the Northeast, was cancelled as a mark of respect to senior Arunachal Pradesh MLA Jambey Tashi who died in a Guwahati hospital early Wednesday.

The festival, which was scheduled to start on November 4, was making a comeback after a two-year gap owing to the Covid pandemic.

The festival, which showcases the frontier state’s vibrant culture, sports, dance, food and Buddhist way of life, had attracted over 40,000 visitors in 2019. Supported by the state government, the first edition was held in 2012.

The Tawang Festival Committee said it decided to call off the festival as a “homage and tribute to the great leader” Tashi, who was also an “energetic and humble youth icon”.

Festival chief coordinator Namgey Tsering told The Telegraph that the 1974-born Tashi was not only a patron of the festival but was actively involved in the organisation and growth of the festival which used to draw tourists from all over India and abroad because Tawang is also one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the Northeast.

The deceased BJP MLA from Lumla constituency in Tawang district was also the advisor to the state’s rural works department and planning department. Festival director T. Chombay was his brother and chief minister Pema Khandu his cousin.

Tashi is survived by his wife, two daughters and one son.

Preparations were complete for the festival which would have seen performances by artistes from Nepal, Bhutan and Bollywood besides home-grown talent. Hotels were also booked by tourists, sources said.

“We had to cancel the festival as a mark of respect to the deceased leader. He was socially very active. He was actively involved with the festival too," Tsering said of his “very close friend”.

Pema Khandu, who heads the BJP government in the state, tweeted: “Demise of brother Shri Jambey Tashi ji, Hon MLA of Lumla Assembly Constituency is a huge personal loss to me and I am so deeply pained at this tragedy. I join the family in my prayers for the departed. Dear Brother, may you attain supreme bliss of Nirvana. Om Mani Padme Hum.”

Khandu further said Tashi, “The once remote and undeveloped constituency of Lumla has today turned into one of the most developed in the state. You have to see Lumla and its adjoining areas to realise the transformation that Tashi has brought. The progress and developmental infrastructure he brought to the region will keep him alive in the hearts of his people,” Khandu added.

An official said tourists used to visit Lumla when they came to Tawang, the district headquarters, for the festival. Lumla is about 45km away from Tawang.