By Barnes Mawrie
“This land that we have, we only borrowed it from our children and grand children” (Chief Seattle)
Whenever I visit West Khasi Hills, I am always struck with grief to see the wanton destruction of forests due to lumbering and charcoal burning. On my way to Kynrut once I came across at least fifteen lorries carrying timber. So we can imagine how many hundreds of trees are being felled everyday in those areas alone. If you ever visit Nongkhnum island (the gorgeous river island), you will realize how much charcoal burning is happening there and not even shrubs are spared in the process. It is true that people in West Khasi Hills are economically backward and due to lack of any other viable commercial enterprises the people are forced to live like parasites on their natural environment. However, the question is how long can we go on destroying our mother nature without expecting repercussions? Many places in the world have turned into deserts because of the disappearance of green covers due to human intrusion. It will not be long before some parts of our West Khasi Hills will be transformed into arid deserts. Water will soon become a scarce commodity and then how can life be sustained and how will agriculture be done? Perhaps we need to apply the principle of greater good in this case. For the sake of our future generations, we need to put an end once and for all to this destructive habit that we have.
The NGT ban on deforestation and mining must be reinforced indefinitely and with greater rigour. I am glad to see that one of our MLAs, Mr. Charles Pyngrope has brought this issue to the notice of the assembly. This is a matter of life and death of our own people and the government should not take it lightly. There needz to be more sincerity and greater political will in addressing this issue.
However, it would be morally wrong to deprive the people of their daily bread without offering them an alternative. It is important for the government to generate a sustainable development for the people of West Khasi Hills, an area which has not seen much development since the inception of our state. Perhaps I would not be wrong to state that all the previous leaders of West Khasi Hills have utterly let down the people and fed them only with empty promises. I do hope that the present contingent of representatives from these areas will change the tide of fortune. It is ironic that new districts have been formed in these parts of our state but without any sign of progress. It has become just a political gimmick to fool the public. There are many things that the government can do to save the situation before it is too late. West Khasi Hills is a land of beauty par excellence. So many beautiful tourist spots are located in this area. To name a few, there is the famous river island of Nongkhnum, the Jakrem Hot-springs, the Kyllang Rock, the Mawthadraishan and Mawphanlur lakes, the Rilang viewpoint and many others which perhaps I am not aware of. Unfortunately, all these remain untapped natural resources. As the saying goes “it is like throwing pearls to the swine.”
God has blessed us with such an awesome country and our forefathers have shed blood to procure for us these breathtaking landscapes. I have visited all the states of North-east India and there is no other place more beautiful than the land of the Hynñiewtrep. How many years more will we be able to behold such natural beauty before they become extinct? Definitely our posterity will not be able to witness this God-given gift if we do not make a collective decision today.
We human beings are capable of shaping our own future and so if the government and all of us the public decide to reverse the situation, perhaps we can do it. It is my opinion that West Khasi Hills should be given top priority in the tourism map of the State. The government in collaboration with the local authorities can work on some viable projects to develop tourism in these areas. More infrastructure and tourist facilities are needed presently in order to attract visitors to these places. If countries like Switzerland or Italy can prosper through tourism, why not our state? It is evident that local people need to be more open to outside investors so as to facilitate faster development. Left to the local resources and genius tourism cannot really progress as seen in other tourist centres of our state. The fear of domination by outsiders can be easily resolved if proper measures are in place and if the government and local authorities are honest about their responsibilities. With development in the tourism sector, people of West Khasi Hills would be blessed with ample opportunities for economic growth. Henceforth they would not need to have recourse to the present destructive behaviour. Tourism generates a sustainable development for the people and thus it could put an end to the rampant destruction of our natural environment. We need to act now or else one day we will wake up only to witness another Sahara Desert in our neighbourhood.