The untimely demise of 18 year old Trisha Sen Bhattacharjee after the bamboo raft carrying her and six others capsized in the Krang Suri lake has raised many questions about tourism in Meghalaya and the safety of tourists. The Krang Suri waterfall is beautiful and pristine and beckons anyone who has heard of it or watched it’s amazing video on YouTube. But like all waterfalls, beauty is laced with danger since the force of the waterfall creates its own current. And although the waters surrounding the falls look relatively peaceful, calm and inviting, danger lurks and unless proper life saving equipment and expert swimmers are engaged to take tourists on boat rides, the Tourism Department cannot even grant permission for any adventure sports on the Lake.
The West Jaintia Hills, District Administration has been promoting Krang Suri as a tourist destination. The graveled footpaths and view points to enable visitors to have a graphic view of the waterfall are concrete steps taken by the Administration to ensure that visitors have a fun time there. But how did they falter when it came to allowing a roughly made bamboo raft wound together with thermacol ostensibly to prevent the raft from sinking, to operate? Trisha’s friends and others who were part of the journey said there was only one person engaged to row the raft. He was evidently not a trained swimmer and took much time before entering the water to rescue Trisha. Much time was lost as a result. The question then is (a) why did the District Administration of Jaintia Hills allow boat rides without adequate safety measures? (b) Who is to be held accountable for such accidents in different tourist destinations strewn across Meghalaya?
The Krang Suri destination is promoted by a private party. The Deputy Commissioner claims that on the day of the fatal accident, the tour operator was in Shillong to purchase life jackets and other equipments. So how was he allowed to operate the rickety boat before these life saving gears were in place? While accidents can and do happen despite the best precautions, this particular accident could have been avoided had all precautionary measures been put in place. The DC Jowai in his Facebook post has blamed the promoter of Krang Suri Falls of excess greed because of which he sold the destination even before he could comply with all the requirements put forward by the Administration. The next question then is whether the Tourism Department has a standard operating procedure (SOP) to guide all tour operators and whether it ensures that those procedures are adhered to in letter and spirit. We have to put an end to greed-induced irresponsible tourism in Meghalaya!