Chandel / Dec 13 : Miss Chakpi, a beauty pageant aimed at raising awareness about the Chakpi River—the lifeline of Chandel district—returned to a glorious and roaring reception at the Centenary Hall, Modi Village, Chandel district, after a gap of five years. In the process, Bs. Kemmi of Abungnikhu village was crowned Miss Chakpi 2025.
In a splendid event held late Friday evening and attended by hundreds from across Chandel district, Bs. Kemmi was crowned Miss Chakpi 2025, while Warnihring Langhu was named 1st Runner-Up and Hmanniwar Ruwndar 2nd Runner-Up. They were awarded cash prizes of Rs. 75,000, Rs. 50,000, and Rs. 30,000 respectively.
As for subtitles, Beautiful Hair went to Thahrin Langhu, Beautiful Skin to Ahmanrie Pashel, Miss Congeniality to Sengul Khiningri, Beautiful Smile to Sweety Wangshol, Graceful Walk to Chaltung Christina, and Miss Talented to Wng. Pepe Sweetly.
The awards for Traditional Attire went to Bs. Chandani, Best Fusion to Hmanniwar Ruwndar, and Best Entertainer to Bs. Kemmi. All winners, besides cash awards, were also given gift vouchers.
The event also saw high-octane performances by James Riamei of GMP The Band, Thotson Langhu, Sanny Seltun, Shel Dawn, and others.
Talking about the beauty pageant, Ruwngni Ruwndar, President of the Miss Chakpi Organising Committee, said Miss Chakpi was last held in 2020 and could not be organised thereafter due to COVID-19 and the 2023 crisis that followed. “Since the situation is much better now, we decided to organise it again,” he said.
He added that Miss Chakpi was initiated to raise awareness about the Chakpi River, the lifeline of Chandel, which is degrading every day due to various reasons. He stressed that it is important to educate people of the district on the importance of the river, as it is vital for livelihoods.
“Moreover, with this beauty pageant, we wanted to draw attention to tourism in the district, as Chandel is naturally a beautiful place,” Ruwngni said.
The event was graced by L. Nandakumar, IAS, former Deputy Commissioner of Chandel, as Chief Guest, and Muidou Makunga, a social worker, and Dilbung Kowar, a special contractor, as Guests of Honour.
Phapha Gachui, Miss Manipur 2016, one of the judges, also played a vital role in training and developing the Miss Chakpi 2025 contestants.
