Itanagar, April 10 : Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) BD Mishra has extended his warm greetings to the people of the State on the occasion of Pongtu, the oldest agricultural festival of the Tutsa comm ty celebrated ahead of the rainy season. In his message, the Governor said Pongtu, an agricultural festival of the Tutsa tribe of Tirap and Changlang districts, is celebrated to welcome the New Year after the harvesting period. The festival is celebrated to invoke the blessings of God for a bumper harvest and security of the crops against natural calamities in the new agrarian season. “I am sanguine that the sanctity of Pongtu Festival will positively bring harmony and amity in the society,” the Governor said in the message. He also expressed hope that the festival will usher in a year of peace, happiness and progress for all. “On this occasion, I join my Tutsa brethren in offering my prayers to Supreme God ‘Rangkathok’ for his choicest blessings to all of us,” the Governor said. TD SSP