SHILLONG, Oct 30: Expressing grave concern over the violence on Friday, the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) on Sunday said the rally, meant to address unemployment, resulted in an atmosphere that might potentially damage the state’s economy and hampers job creation and economic growth. The incident has also painted Meghalaya and Meghalayans, particularly the indigenous population, in very poor light, it said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, MTDF chairman Larsing Sawyan said, “With the advent and progressive evolution of communication and digital technology, we today live in a world of seamless communication and transfer of information. The violence perpetrated on Friday therefore was not only recorded but shared across the state, region and country.”
The statement lauded the FKJGP president for tendering an apology for the incident and said, “The abuse and violence afflicted on innocent citizens of the country is a criminal act and it is an incident that has damaged the goodwill of the Khasi and Jaintia people. It is also an act that has severely compromised the economic potential of the state particularly in the sector of tourism.”
The MTDF urged the state government to take immediate action and apprehend the perpetrators of the violence.
“Confidence in the law-and-order machinery needs to be restored and the public need to be given reassurance that such blatant acts of public defiance against the order of law and civility will not go unpunished,” the statement said, urging the FKJGP to help identify the members who committed the acts of violence against innocent people.
“Meghalaya today stands at the threshold of huge economic growth that can be achieved primarily through tourism. Post-pandemic, people have an aversion to long distance overseas travel besides it is highly cumbersome nowadays to obtain visas to European countries. This presents a huge opportunity to Meghalaya tourism in the coming years. It’s is therefore important to acknowledge the importance of tourism as a game changer for livelihood creation for the local people particularly in the rural areas,” the statement read.
The MTDF also solicited the support of all community organisations and NGOs in the state to work unitedly towards promoting an atmosphere of peace.
“Meghalaya is a state with an extremely youthful population. What this also means is that we need to aggressively work towards creating an ecosystem that will lead to livelihood and job creation in big numbers in a very short period. The MTDF is committed towards this cause and also takes this opportunity to invite like-minded people and organisations to work together with us for achieving the same. We urge upon all those organisations and individuals with a deep sense of commitment to whatever cause that they believe in to directly engage in the upcoming electoral process. Issues concerning our state need to be addressed through electoral debates and in the Assembly rather than on the streets, thoroughfares and market places,” it added.
