SHILLONG, March 16: The state government has finally admitted that the facilitation centre at Umling in Ri Bhoi has been set up in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and had nothing to do with the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA).
“MRSSA has been amended but is yet to be approved by the Governor. The facilitation centre at Umling is purely dealing with COVID-19,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma revealed in the Assembly.
Registration of inbound people is being done keeping COVID-19 in mind so that it will be easy to monitor the situation in case of a fresh outbreak, the chief minister said, adding that it also serves the purpose of tracking the movement of people coming into the state.
Earlier, replying to a query by West Shillong Congress legislator, Mohendro Rapsang, the chief minister confessed that inflow of tourists has come down drastically with only 26,123 tourists visiting Meghalaya since the facilitation centre was opened on December 21 last year.
Giving the details, he said 5551 tourists visited the state in December 2020; 9558 in January 2021; 9664 in February and 1350 in the first four days of March.
“We have seen a large drop in inflow of tourists due to lockdown and restrictions. Tourism was the first to be hit and the last to recover and it is a difficult situation for stakeholders,” he admitted.
On efforts being made to help the stakeholders involved in the tourism sector, the CM declined to pinpoint the measures and said it is in process.
The chief minister, however, said that the government has cleared Rs 700 crore to upgrading rural infrastructure in tourist spots and is connecting travel agents with tourists to plan their scheduled visit. “We are creating an entire circuit for them so that they can click and choose,” he said.
Pointing out that that there is no specific proposal to provide general relief to the stakeholders, he said that a large number of businesses had taken government properties on lease and the annual fees have been waived off.
On other measures to help the stakeholders, the chief minister said that directly or indirectly, hotels were integrated in the fight against COVID-19 and some of them were converted into corona care centres. “This is one of the several ways in which the state government has managed to support them,” he said.
Reiterating that there is no specific package, he reasoned that the number of beneficiaries is huge and it would entail huge financial cost.
Replying to yet another supplementary question by Congress legislator Mayralborn Syiem to replicate the Sikkim model by not allowing commercial vehicles from other states to ferry passengers to various tourist destinations in Meghalaya, the CM said, “This suggestion is being discussed. Once we do that it will have an effect.”
He reasoned that Assam may follow the same policy and not allow tourist vehicles from Meghalaya to go beyond Umling.
“We are trying to figure out how to minimise the negatives. Flights coming to Shillong directly are always better and we are pushing for more flights as it will boost the tourism sector,” he added.
The chief minister also said that the government has introduced online registration of visitors. “We will incorporate booking of taxis, guides and restaurants that will ensure that there is a preference for our people. Local cabbies will get benefits and we will engage with taxi associations to upgrade their skills,” he added.
