SHILLONG, March 9: Cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh has assured that he will refocus on the Tourism sector, which, he said, is an “inherent strength” of Meghalaya.
Lyngdoh, who has also been allotted Tourism, Social Welfare, Arts & Culture and Textiles departments in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) 2.0 cabinet, said, “There is so much you can do and having the ‘Team Dream’, we should be able to accomplish much more and optimise the potential of Meghalaya as a state.”
He also acceded to drug abuse among youths being a major area of concern.
“Youths are like rivers, they can be tapped to become source of hydro power project but, if the same river is not controlled, it can lead to floods,” Lyngdoh said.
Accentuating the need to harness the energy of youths, he said doing so will make them eschew such perilous habits.
When asked about ILP demand, the cabinet minister said that since the demand was adopted in the form of a resolution by the Assembly, the same needs to be reiterated both by the House and Cabinet, and should be taken forward.
When asked about the mushrooming of sex workers in the state capital, Lyngdoh said this is an area where the government needs to focus.
“If the focus is right and if you pay adequate attention, this is an area we can still deal with,” he said, arguing that nobody would like to take up sex work as a profession and people are involved in the profession for survival.
