SHILLONG: On July 22, which was a Saturday, many passengers were stuck between Umiam and Mawlai for over three hours. The reason? Over 5,000 vehicles from Assam carrying day tourists to different parts of Meghalaya were on the already crowded road.
On Sunday, the traffic from Assam increased. It appeared that everyone from Assam was bound for Sohra or Mawlynnong.
At the Mawkdok lookout on the way to Sohra, the road was clogged because tourists decided to park their vehicles anywhere to click selfies. There was absolutely no control over tourist behaviour. The lone traffic policeman at Mawkdok could not assert his authority and no one was listening to him.
Prof Desmond Kharmawphlang, Head of the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies at NEHU, had taken his guests from Wales to Sohra. They got caught in a massive traffic jam at Mawkdok. It took them nearly an hour to extricate themselves from the traffic mess.
“This is not the kind of tourism we are looking at. My guests from Wales were shocked. They thought Sohra was still a quiet and serene little getaway but no longer. Without a tourism policy that restricts the number of footfall in certain locales, tourism is bound to backfire in the State,” Dr Kharmawphlang said.
A doctor who took her children for a weekend outing to Sohra was caught in a similar traffic snarl at Mawkdok. Livid with rage she said tourists coming to Meghalaya do not have the etiquette to park their vehicles in an orderly manner.
If lack of parking sense was not enough, the junk emanating from the tourist vehicles was an eyesore. Local vendors had to pick them up.
“Most tourists coming from Assam carry their own food and drinks. So what is Meghalaya really earning,” asks the annoyed doctor.
Indeed, the only people who earn are those running the toll gate at Umling.
Shillongites who wanted to chill out on the weekend encountered a nightmare instead.
Café ML05 at Upper Shillong was overflowing with tourists from Assam. The vehicles were parked there even while men and drivers urinated in the pine forests around the Café.
“It was disgusting to say the least. Don’t these people have any respect for nature?” said a local tourist who had to return disappointed at not getting even a cup of coffee at any of the outlets.
Her observation was that at this rate, the people of Shillong will have to be house-bound on weekends since it’s a harrowing experience to get out of the house and be caught in traffic.
Many are of the view that it’s high time the government creates posts of tourist policemen/women to be deployed at these lookout points. Only they can regulate the endless traffic on weekends and also tourist behaviour.
While tourism is a money spinner, the question that many are asking is whether this sort of influx tourism is what Meghalaya wants.
