SHILLONG: Many states in India and several countries in the world depend on a vivacious night life to promote and propel tourism. Shillong where tourism is the mainstay of locals is yet to use this element to boost the industry.
Many tourists in the hill city, which sleeps early, are of the view that more is needed to be done to make the night life here more attractive.
A tourist who visited Shillong was surprised that the two major attractions — the Wards Lake and the zoo — close their gates before sunset while in other parts of the country, people start thronging tourist sites only after sunset.
When contacted, an official in the Forest Department said the department has a fixed timing in summer and winter for the two tourist sites and these timings cannot be compared with other cities.
The official also said the closure timings of the parks in hilly states, including Uttarakhand, is almost the same.
Locals also say the culture of night life must be introduced in the city because the era of early closure of shops in Shillong and fear of roaming at night are gone.
At present, the idea of night life here confines itself to having drinks at pubs, watching an evening show of a movie and taking a walk down Police Bazaar for shopping.
A citizen of Shillong who did not wish to be identified said the concept of night life is important for the young generation to realise that they live in a free society where they can stay out of their house for late nights.
The citizen also supported his stand by saying the government needs to play an important role in making citizens feel safe by providing a good public transport system, which remains functional till late in the evening and by providing a well illuminated city.
