KOHIMA: As the Khuochiezie (local ground in Kohima ) here prepares for the grand oath-taking ceremony of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) government, which will take place for the first time outside the Raj Bhavan on Thursday, an atmosphere of festivity prevails in the area. The ground, where the Nagaland statehood function was held in the presence of then President S Radhakrishnan in 1963, is expecting a turnout of at least 15,000 people this time.George Frideric Handel 's The Messiah - Hallelujah chorus - will reverberate the air with the rendering of this famous musical work by members of the Naga Youth Choir who went through meticulous rehearsals of rendering the notes perfectly under Hethanglo Kath. "We have chosen Handel's piece as a celebration of glory of god for the occasion. Whenever there is any big programme, we choose this musical piece. After all, it is a celebration of life and our faithfulness to God," said a member of the Choir.Nagaland's officiating chief secretary Temjen Toy said Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and four other Union ministers are expected to attend the ceremony. He added that chief ministers of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh will also attend the event. "We have made adequate arrangement of security for smooth conduct of the ceremony. The oath-taking ceremony will be the historic one for Nagaland as it is being held for the first time at a public ground. We are expecting a large turnout," Toy said.This is also the same ground where the Naga independence plebiscite was held in 1951. Since then, the state went through prolonged spell of insurgency till peace talks started between the Centre and NSCN(I-M) in 1997. By holding the swearing-in function at this historic ground, the PDA government, a coalition of Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party ( NDPP ), BJP, JD(U) and an Independent, wants to send the message to the public that it wants to facilitate solution to the Naga political problem. Nagaland governor PB Acharya will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Neiphu Rio and his 11 council of ministers.With NDPP and BJP flags fluttering in the entire ground, organizers are busy putting a fresh coat of paint and repairing approach roads. "We will start a new journey from Thursday for providing a stable government and ushering in all round development in the state," said Nagaland BJP vice-president Kuputo Shohe.

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