By Barnes Mawrie, SDB
The approach roads to these iconic tourist locations should be given to companies who could provide us with quality roads which would last at least a decade without the need for repairs in between. Simple logic tells us that it is more economic to make good roads once and for all than to spend on repairs year after year. So far our government has been penny wise and pound foolish.
We speak of Meghalaya as being rich in tourism prospects, which is indeed very true knowing the exquisite natural beauty that our State possesses. Our leaders as well as many people continue to repeat ad nauseam that tourism can be the primary source of the state’s GDP. However, the reality is that we are far from achieving that desired goal. There is an attractive and meaningful vision statement which says “building dreams and shaping lives.” Looking at our state, we can boldly affirm that we are only building dreams upon dreams which never come to a realization. Even the dream of having a state-of- the-art Assembly House, has literally collapsed in recent days. It is sad to say that this negative soul searching of the state of our State, should happen in this Golden Jubilee year of our statehood. But we have to call a spade a spade and face the reality as it is, rather than beat about the bush and find comfort in a make-believe idea of success. Our governments, past and present, have failed the people of the state in many ways. Not only are we tormented with frequent unstable governments, but we are also being let down in areas of development. In these fifty years, we have experienced only regress and not progress.
Yesterday, I had accompanied a group of participants of the national conference held in Mawlai, for a trip to Sohra and Mawphlang. They are all persons coming from different states of India. I was literally ashamed to witness the condition of the roads to different tourist locations. On the way to the world famous Mawphlang Sacred Grove, we had a rough journey right from Mawngap. The stretch of road is already in a half dilapidated condition. There is no sign of repair work at all. While passing through Daiñthlen to reach the main road to Sohra, we had a back-breaking journey. That stretch of road which is hardly 3 or 4 kilometers took us more than 30 minutes. There is neither a black-topped road nor any semblance of it anymore. It is a road full of ditches and stones. I asked myself, is this the approach road to this popular tourist spot?
Again on our way to Nohkalikai Falls, we were encountered a horrible road condition. The road is both narrow and poorly constructed. There are so many potholes that make the journey so uncomfortable. The narrow road makes driving of buses extremely difficult and dangerous. I again asked myself, is this the road to the world famous Nohkalikai Falls? How hypocritical the government is when it shamelessly speaks of boosting tourism enterprise. One particular tourist from South India said these words to me, “You are blessed by God with exquisite natural beauty, but you are cursed with poor accessibility.” How true this statement is when we really know the condition of our road connectivity. In the words of the Gospel, it is, “throwing pearls to the swines.” It is sad to say that we are squandering away the riches we are given by God.
The village NGOs who look after these tourist spots are doing their best to improve the places. Kudos to all of them! What is lacking however is the government’s political will to prove their worth. These approach roads to such world renowned tourist destinations should be of excellent quality. This is the case when we go to similar locations either in other states of India or abroad. What the public has realized is that giving the work to the PWD is not going to improve the situation. We all know that PWD roads are haphazardly done and are of poor quality and often the work done is not proportionate to the money invested due to corrupt practices. PWD roads are made only for one season and thus the government squanders a lot of public money in repairing them year after year. We begin to wonder, is the government trying to create employment by making miserable roads that need constant repairs? If so then that is not a good idea for it implies duping the public and wasting the tax payers’ money.
The approach roads to these iconic tourist locations should be given to companies who could provide us with quality roads which would last at least a decade without the need for repairs in between. Simple logic tells us that it is more economic to make good roads once and for all than to spend on repairs year after year. So far our government has been penny wise and pound foolish.
Perhaps to mark the golden jubilee of our statehood, the government could undertake a massive quality-road project in areas where important tourist destinations are located. Let us not forget that good public infrastructure like good roads, is the secret to any economic development. Good road systems are an incentive to tourists from near and far. As of today, no tourist would venture a second time to many of our tourist spots on account of bumpy roads. I for myself would not encourage tourists from outside to go to these places because it would only project a poor image of our State. I hope that the Government would take a positive step along this line in order to leave a memorable monument of this golden jubilee.