By Daiaphira Kharsati
Is the monotony of your regimented life taking a toll on you? Has life turned monochromatic and all you see is grey? Does the ticking clock bother you? Then take a deep breath and a long holiday because it is time for you to see the world through a fisheye lens. Brothers Jason and Gary Jarman Lamare can lead the way down under the Umngot river.
If you are still wondering what it is all about then pack your essentials and get set to experience the country’s first and probably the only freshwater scuba diving at Shnongpdeng, a quaint village in Dawki that was, only a few years ago, unknown to benign tourists and uncompromising adventurers.
The Pioneer Adventure Tour (PAT), which is the first company to start and promote such tourism at scenic Shnongpdeng in Dawki, was started by Jason and Gary on August 15, 2011, with an aim to introduce the wilder side of Meghalaya and its beauty deep inside. However, it was more a welcoming message from the pioneers for all who loved to experience the unconventionality than a challenge for the daredevils.
Among all the adventure sports that the Pioneer offers, scuba diving that started in 2011 along with other activities, is a special attraction. According to Jason, Shnongpdeng has the perfect conditions for the sport with visibility of 25m and depth of 40 ft.
Sameer Chettri, a Puducherry-based rescue diver and an old friend of the brothers, says freshwater diving is completely different from scuba diving in the sea, where water is denser and warmer.
“Freshwater has lower temperature and one needs to go into water with proper thermal wear. The Umngot is a pristine river and scuba diving there was an amazing experience for me,” says Chettri, who is originally from Shillong and currently works as a safety engineer and rescue diver for Temple Adventures Pondicherry.
Jason informs that most of the members of the Pioneer are experienced and hold certificates in scuba diving from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world’s leading scuba diver training organisation.
Scuba diving has become a popular adventure game in India in the last few years. The word “scuba” is actually an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus that has a portable supply of compressed gas supplied at a regulated pressure.
Chettri says one does not have to be a swimmer to experience scuba diving into the Umngot. “The expert team is always there. So one need not fear,” he says.
The Umngot that flows through Dawki town on the Indo-Bangladesh border is a favourite site for anglers and photographers. The river is the natural boundary between Ri Pnar (of Jaintia Hills) and Hima Khyrim (of Khasi Hills). The view of the river from the suspension bridge on it is breathtaking.
Chettri says the temperature of the water is 10-15 degrees Celsius and lighter than seawater. The river is 4-5 km between Shnongpdneng and Dawki and the depth varies. “Where we dive the depth is 12 meters, which is the limit for inexperienced divers. If you go upstream, it’s 17 meters for experienced divers,” Jason said.
“The difference between freshwater and seawater scuba diving is in the buoyancy apparatus, besides the thermal wear,” says the trained diver and asserts that PAT uses the best equipment for safety of visitors.
There is back water diving in Cochin in south India but the Umngot is the only river diving in the country, Chettri informs.
Scuba diving, says Chettri, is not just about the thrill. “It also makes one aware of the world under water and its conservation. When I went diving into the Umngot with Jason, we cleaned so many plastic wrappers from under the water. Who would have known about the garbage in the river if no one had gone down? Also, scuba diving is a good exercise,” the 35-year-old diver explains.
Talking about her “beautiful experience” in the village, Sukrita Baruah, a young journalist based in Delhi, says she and her over 50-year-old mother enjoyed their swim in the crystal clear water of the Umngot in an October afternoon.
“We can swim but were new to scuba diving. If you are a first-timer, you may feel claustrophobic when the mask is put on. My mother could not continue and opted for snorkelling but I did dive,” says Baruah.
She says the trainers were always around and literally hand-held her to initiate the process.
Other sports
Apart from scuba diving, the Pioneer also offers other adventure sports, including snorkelling.
With 10 activities of Xtreme sports on its list, PAT is the first company to start and promote such tourism at scenic Shnongpdeng.
“Our first adventure site is situated in Dawki (which borders Bangladesh) and provides adventure activities like scuba diving, zip lining, which is the first in the North East, river rafting, cliff jumping, caving, rock climbing, rappelling, canyoning, camping and trekking. We want people to stay on the site for a couple of days and take part in the various adventure activities on offer,” says Jason.
“Our second adventure site is at Dympep/Mawkdok in Cherrapunjee where we operate a zipline, the second in the North East. The line is 2,400 ft long and 700 ft in height and has now become a very popular attraction in Meghalaya as far as adventure tourism goes. Our aim is to eventually expand the zipline to 6 km across the valley towards Cherrapunjee,” he added.
The zipline at Dympep/Mawkdok valley runs throughout the year.
PAT’s campsite is located on the outskirts of Shnongpdeng and takes a 10-minute boat ride from the village. “We operate in Shnongpdeng but our campsite is upstream which is away from the village. That way, we will have our own privacy. Especially, in the evening time, there is no one and just us which is the best part. Our campsite at Shnongpdeng runs from October to May,” Jason says, adding that PAT aims to make Meghalaya the number one destination for adventure.
Jason says like scuba diving, trainers in other sports are also qualified. “The mountaineering and rock climbing trainers is from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and Wee’s Rock Climbing School, Thailand. The co-owner has summited Mt Cho Oyu in Tibet and most recently, Stok Kanrgi in Leh, Ladakh. He has also summated Mt Everest and Mt Kanchenjunga in Nepal and Nyegi Kangtsang in Arunachal Pradesh.”
Rural employment
Other than promoting adventure sports, the Pioneer has opened up employment opportunities for local youths who are conversant with the terrain there. PAT wants to promote adventure tourism in collaboration with local youths.
The activities are necessarily centered in remote and backward areas where employment opportunities are hard to come by and “through our activities, we have been able to generate jobs and contribute positively to their economic empowerment”, Jason says.
“Needless to say, expansion of our activities will have a direct bearing on rural economy and provide a multitude of opportunities to the locals in the remote area and also help in developing it to some extent,” he added.
Ever since their agreement with the Shnongpdeng Dorbar in 2011, inflow of tourists in the village has increased at a steady pace. Also, some high profile visits, including that of the Princess of Thailand, to the village in the last few years, besides promotion on social media, have only increased the popularity of the village.
A study mostly conducted by PAT from 2014-17 on the steady inflow of tourists found the number at 44,242, including foreign tourists.
The villagers earn by renting out equipment like life jackets (at Rs 50), tents (at Rs 700-1,000), guest houses, public toilets and car parking.
The secretary of the Shnongpdeng Tourism Development Society (STDS), Laiba Khongmuloh, agrees saying the tourism industry has improved the finances of the village, which was earlier struggling with limited funds.
“It may not be a huge amount but it has helped us a lot. The village of Shnongpdeng also expresses gratitude to Pioneer Adventure Tours that initiated the tourism development. It is an example for the locals as well to take up tourism related works,” he adds.
The village also thanks the Tourism Department for setting up public toilets.
Khongmuloh says the village has a major responsibility towards safety of tourists and has put up signboards. Tourists are strictly advised to wear life jackets, STDS also deploys volunteers in important sites.
With cleanliness becoming a major issue in some tourist spots, Khongmuloh says STDS, the village defence party and the Cleanliness Committee look after the cleanliness of the village and the Umngot river.
“Our mutual love for adventure sports and the outdoors meant that Pioneer Adventure Tours was an inevitability and it is one that we hope will provide many with the opportunity to learn about, appreciate and respect this region’s natural beauty like we do,” says Jason while talking about the venture’s future.
(Photo courtesy: The Pioneer Adventure Tour, Sameer Chettri)