Editor,
Apropos your headline, ‘Gun Culture concerns Deborah’ (ST Feb 14, 2015), I have seen the slow development of Tourism in Meghalaya over the past 15 years and am seeing many a leader preach tourism as an alternative. But what solutions are they offering? You cannot preach tourism as an alternative without looking at the overall consequences of it. Take Siju for example; I first went there way back in the early, mid and late ‘90’s. The tourism department had built a ‘tourist lodge’ there, as in many places throughout Meghalaya. When I first went it had just been built, so was in good condition. After that each time I visited the place the condition deteriorated. The poor caretaker had no budget and had to go all the way to Tura to collect his small salary, and had people coming off and on. Within a few years it was in bad shape. If you showed up it was likely locked and you had to find a person to open it. Each Tourism Minister had some bright idea, to do something to it but in the end to no avail. It is the same with every other department. They put an idea out, tell people to do something then do not offer a market. Tourism, Agriculture, Horticulture etc all fall in the same category. I visit so many villages in War/Jaintia that planted coffee some decades ago but never knew what to do with it. It grows well, tastes great but if you don’t know how to market it, what is the use? Now most people have given up coffee plantation. With Tourism too, the government goes on about it being an alternative, but if the promotion of it is to West Bengal, where the Tourism department wins lot of awards for best stall, each year, something is wrong. Why are we preaching to the converted? The people from Kolkata and West Bengal already know about Meghalaya and are coming anyway, and what are they coming for? Basically a sightseeing trip of a circuit that the has been put out there – Guwahati, Shillong, Cherrapunjee and now Mawlynnong. Oh yes, we have lots of tourists coming and crowding these places but how about looking at the overall economic change from it? They come in a vehicle from Assam with a driver who knows little about the area, visit the place, take a few pictures and go home. Out of 1000 tourists is there real long term benefit? When will the Department realize that we need to promote Meghalaya in a gentle and concentrated method, looking for quality travellers, not ‘tourists’, who will come here , stay one to two week at the minimum, spend time in villages and homes, hire local guides, hire local drivers and spend money here. Let’s face it, the main goal is to get money to come out of the visitor’s pockets and into the local economy. Get them going into the local tea stalls, eating local food, spending on local not bringing their own Chappati and subji and eating along the side of the road and throwing the garbage in Meghalaya.
Coming back to Siju, it’s a wonderful and beautiful village, and lots to do around. But ask any local person if they have really benefited from Tourism in the last 20 years since the ‘Tourist Lodge’ was built there or whether benefitted more from coal mining. The state of affairs in our culture and world today is want, want, want.. We in the cities think we know best for the rural areas, yet we keep buying new cars, building bigger houses and messing up our own; but still want to preach to the rural areas of what they should do. Of course they all want what we have, as we want what others have. Until the mindset is changed; Meghalaya and many others places will keep going in the wrong direction. Let’s stop preaching and start doing. It is like going to a church service and hearing so much good preaching, but going out of that service and doing what we always do, sin. Let’s get the preaching happening by example not by somebody standing on a podium. Out of all the money made by individuals from coal mining, how much has been put back into future economies? Which individuals who made crores have invested even a few lakhs into a home stay, a park, a clean river or a nice restaurant?
Yours etc.,
James Perry,
Tour operator,
Via email