Opposition to proposed road from Tyrna to Nongthymmai area
Shillong: A road that proposes to link Tyrna and Nongthymmai is set to bring disastrous news for Nongriat Valley which is famed for its ‘Double Decker’ living root bridge.
This is the feeling echoed by those who survive from promoting village tourism. Nongriat is a place of outstanding natural beauty in which there is still a certain harmony between humans and nature and has remained so for over 200 years.
The proposed road linking Tyrna and Nongthymmai and its neighbouring villages will lie within the pristine nature of the Nongriat Valley. The Valley itself is currently only accessible by foot, thus limiting the number of visitors to a manageable level at which the ecosystem can support.
Nongriat Valley’s lush green rain forests, waterfalls, crystal clear rivers and of course, its historic root bridges draw tourists from all over the globe.
Currently, village life and infrastructure has been able to accommodate this influx of human traffic. However, the new road will increase tourism to an unprecedented level. The results to both nature and village life would be catastrophic due to the pollution of cars and an inability to dispose of the increased human garbage.
Byron Nongbri, owner of Serene Homestay in Nongriat Valley, has already circulated an online petition signed by hundreds of tourists who have at one time or the other visited or stayed at Nongriat. The petition is addressed to the Director, Tourism department.
Repeated attempts to contact the Director, Tourism, R.C. Sohkhlet between 8:45 PM and 9 PM on Tuesday failed as her mobile was switched off.
Those who survive on tourism fear that the joy and exhilaration of reaching Nongriat Valley by going down 2500 steps and climbing an equal number on the return journey will be forever lost with the coming of the road to Nongthymmai.
While some argue that the people of Nongriat who do not earn from tourism but who need to get their produce up to Sohra will benefit from the road, Nongbri and others like him have argued that a ropeway for lifting farm produce and the sick and elderly would be a much better proposition especially since the Double Decker root bridge is already frayed due to overwhelming footfalls, far beyond the carrying capacity.
This is Meghalaya’s problem in tourist spot after tourist spot. The number of tourists visiting quaint little villages on any given day is far beyond what the villagers themselves can adapt to. A sense of fatigue has set in even while the few who earn from tourism continue to be fuelled by greed.
Without a clear Tourism Policy and the amount of tourists that village tourism or eco-tourism can sustain, tourism will be killed faster than it has developed.
It is learnt that the proposal for building this road to Nongthymmai and its outcome has been conveyed to Chief Minister Mukul Sangma who also holds the Tourism portfolio.