Tourism forum asks groups to not aggravate situation

SHILLONG, Nov 25: With tourism in Meghalaya taking a hit following Mukroh killings and the subsequent breakdown of law and order in the state capital, the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) has appealed to the pressure groups to refrain from taking up any activities that would aggravate the situation.
In a statement, the MTDF also appealed to the governments of Meghalaya and Assam to not only bring the perpetrators to justice but also expedite the process of resolving interstate border issues.
Condemning the firing incident at Mukroh village in West Jaintia Hills, which left five civilians from Meghalaya and one forest guard from Assam dead, the MTDF said, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Mukroh and pray for the family of the departed souls and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”
“We stand by the similar demands addressed by the various NGOs but, at the same time, we would like to state that as a Forum that stands for the development of tourism in the state, we urge them to refrain from taking up any activities that would aggravate the situation, thus affecting tourism and other allied activities associated with it,” it added.
The Forum, which is also working for the promotion of rural tourism, has felt that the recent untoward incidents in Shillong has had a serious effect on their partners working in the rural tourism industry such as homestay owners, local entrepreneurs at camping sites, local transporters and small businesses at tourism sites.
Lamenting that rural people who rely on tourism have already suffered for two years due to COVID-19 pandemic, the MTDF said, “Meghalaya has already earned a name as a much-favored tourism destination last year and any unnecessary disturbances shall take a long time to recover the brand name again. We urge the NGOs to therefore allow the lawful processes to take their course before resorting to any forms of protest that would affect the livelihoods of our fellow citizens in the rural areas, especially those engaged in daily earnings from tourism.”