SHILLONG: Garo Hills legislators from the Opposition parties have questioned the failure of the state government to promote the region as ‘a major tourist destination’.
While moving a motion on the second day of the budget session in the Assembly on Tuesday, South Tura legislator John Leslee Sangma said the dream of the government to transform Garo Hills into a major tourism hub is yet to translate into reality.
“The government had made big promises in its Tourism Policy in 2001. But none of the promises have fructified till date,” Sangma lamented.
He expressed his disappointment that several tourist destinations in Garo Hills remained untapped despite having huge potentials.
Sangma blamed the government’s lackadaisical attitude for keeping Garo Hills outside the tourism map of the country.
“How can the Tourism industry get a boost in Garo Hills when a Tourism officer posted at Tura has to look after three districts of East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills and North Garo Hills?” he questioned.
Emphasizing on encouraging tourists from neighbouring Bangladesh to visit the state in order to generate revenue, he also suggested setting up of a visa office at Baghmara.
Supporting the motion, NPP legislator James K Sangma suggested the creation of a Tourist Police force to ensure safety and security of visitors to Meghalaya.
Taking part in the discussion, James said such a force could cater to the security of tourists in the state. “There is an acute sense of distrust against outsiders in Meghalaya,” he pointed out and stressed on the need to cultivate a tourist- friendly attitude among the people.
He also said that the state government will have to carry out lot of new experiment and think ‘out of the box’ to boost the tourism industry.
“The policy followed by the government has failed to bring any positive result. It is now important for the government to think of new ideas to develop to this very important sector,” James said.
Referring to the NGT ban and the drastic fall in the state revenue, James said, “There is no better way to enhance the revenue of the state if the government can shift its attention to developing the tourism sector.”
He also felt that the government should have thought of this much earlier as it could have helped the state overcome the present financial crisis arising out of the NGT ban.
Echoing similar views, Independent legislator Saleng M Sangma said that the state government should set a priority for development of tourism in Garo Hills.
In reply, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma stated that despite the challenges faced by Garo Hills, the enthusiasm of the legislators to come together for promotion of tourism in the region was commendable.
“We all understand the potential of this very important sector. We need to look at how to brand ourselves so that people will think of Meghalaya as a tourist destination worth visiting,” the Chief Minister said.
He observed that the crucial sector of tourism could become the number one game changer in the years to come.
“We have been engaging with the Government of India and other North Eastern states to brand the North Eastern region,” he added.
Meanwhile, NPP MLA Nihim D Shira drew the attention of the House to the emergence of several lakes in Garo Hills region after the devastating earthquake on June 12, 1897.
Shira informed that a lot of foreign tourists visit the lakes every year.
The lakes include Tasek, Bolgism, Chidambong, Dagal Chiwakko and Chitmaren in East Garo Hills, Shira said, urging the government to promote these spots to boost tourism in the region.
