KCCI tells Kohima shops to repaint shutters by November 30

KOHIMA – The Kohima Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has directed every shop in the Kohima Municipal Area to repaint its shutters by November 30, 2026, as part of celebrations marking the traders’ body’s 50th year.

In a press release issued on Sunday, November 8, the chamber said shops must also keep their signboards clean and in good repair, and install LED lighting on their signboards or shopfronts. KCCI officials will monitor compliance, the release said. It did not say what action, if any, would follow for shops that miss the deadline, and no office bearer was named on the copy seen by Nagaland.News.

40 per cent off paint

To cut the cost for traders, the chamber said it has partnered with British Paints, which is offering a 40 per cent discount on its Ultra White paint to shops buying it for the repainting drive.

The offer also ends on November 30, so KCCI advised shop owners to buy early and leave enough time to finish the work.

To claim the discount, a shop must show its trade licence or KCCI registration certificate at one of three British Paints authorised outlets named in the release:

• Solo Hardware, High School Junction
• Asiatic Technology, Main Town
• Smart Paint, Mohonkhola

The discount terms are as stated by KCCI; Nagaland.News has not independently confirmed them with British Paints.

Shop owners with questions can contact any KCCI official at the chamber’s office, opposite the NST Parking Lot in Main Town, Kohima.

Fifty years of the Kohima chamber

KCCI’s letterhead records its registration as No. 158, dated April 3, 1976. The chamber represents traders, retailers and enterprises in the state capital, General Secretary Grace Swu said in August, when the chamber unveiled its Golden Jubilee logo bearing the years 1976–2026, according to The Morung Express. Medozhatuo Rutsa, convenor of the Golden Jubilee Organising Committee, unveiled the logo at the KCCI office on August 7.

The chamber is led by Ruokuoneilie Kesiezie, who took over as president from Kezhazer Angami at a change-of-guard programme in Kohima on May 27, Eastern Mirror reported.

In June, KCCI also began a membership registration and census drive covering shops, trading establishments and markets in Kohima from June 15. The KCCI registration certificate is one of the two documents that the paint offer accepts.

Deadline ahead of Hornbill

The November 30 deadline falls a day before the Hornbill Festival, which is held every year from December 1 to 10 at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama, near Kohima, and draws large numbers of visitors through the capital. The KCCI release links the drive only to its Golden Jubilee and does not mention the festival.

Kohima’s traders have smartened up the town before the festival in the past. In November 2018, KCCI called a mass social work that saw shops in the municipal area keep their shutters down until noon while traders gave commercial establishments a facelift ahead of Hornbill, The Morung Express reported at the time.

Chambers of commerce across Nagaland regularly issue directives to their member businesses. Earlier this month, the Wokha District Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked businesses to close for Tokhü Emong, while Kohima traders were recently warned about unauthorised money collection in a separate public notice.