By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, Jan 8: Barely 19 km from Shillong past Mylliem and a turn off to the right is what villagers called Khat-ar Mer (12 Mile). Going inside what is an off road about 2 km inside is a freshly made car park where local tourists come to visit a brand new destination discovered in 2021 called ‘Wahniangleng’. Going down to what is a freshwater lake is a rough trek of about 1.5 km made by the villagers. The place was first discovered by a group of avid cyclists under the banner of Meghalaya Cycling Association (MCA), whose president is Lening K Bareh, presently Executive Engineer (T/C), PWD, posted at Nongstoin.
In 2021, some members of the MCA decided to go on a downhill cycling to Wahniangleng. Bareh says he found the place very beautiful but it was very dirty and littered with plastic bags and wine bottles left behind by fishing aficionados as the lake has abundant fish. Bareh was troubled by the sight of garbage in such a beautiful place. He and his team decided to do something to turn the place around.
“I met Pynshai Sing Lyngdoh Mawlong alias Paheh a local cowherd there I asked him who the owner of the place surrounding the lake is. I wanted to know if the owner would sell or lease the place so that it could be developed into a tourist spot. I also took some pictures on drone and posted them online. After seeing those pictures and videos local tourists started frequenting the place,” Bareh told this correspondent, adding that in 2022 his team found the owner who agreed to lease the place for 30 years.
Immediately on getting the lease, Bareh and the local boys cleaned up the entire stretch for two weeks and collected tons of garbage, which is basically recyclable waste. In the meantime, Bareh then suggested to Paheh that they should form an eco-tourism society called “Green Warriors,” with him as the President and a lady, Kong Shimti who owns a shop there as the Vice President. But all this was done with the knowledge of the local dorbar shnong.
“We selected some young boys from the poorest families in the village to become environmental warriors and clean up the place.
Now the place is spotless and tourists too on seeing clean surroundings do not litter but deposit whatever they need to discard in the baskets kept all along the route,” Bareh explained. He also said that the village has a very high drop-out rate. Bareh’s deal with the boys’ families is that he and his cyclist friends would sponsor the school fees, uniforms, books etc., of these ten young boys and they would in turn clean up the place when they are free from studies. This has been going on regularly now leaving the place spotlessly clean.
Since 2023, the Green Warriors group has started collecting entry fees of Rs 50 per person. This amount goes towards payment of a salary to Paheh who has a family and barely has enough to eat. In fact, Paheh lives in a home that is in tatters. Bareh says, the plan is also to construct a more durable home for Paheh and his family out of the income earned. The entry fees have also been invested in a few kayaks for tourists to enjoy boating on the lake. A few tents have also come up in case some tourists wish to stay back. Pay toilets have been made and kept scrupulously clean by the same group of boys.
Initially, tourists were not very welcome because the villagers were wary of strangers entering their village but when they saw that the village had become cleaner and they were earning some revenue, they have started welcoming local tourists.
The trek being a tough one only the locals dare venture down to the lake since the climb uphill is also tough. But on Saturday when this correspondent visited the place it was clear that tourists actually enjoyed the trek down and up despite the challenging trip up.
Kong Shimti, the vice president of Green Warriors, allowed her compound to be flattened and converted into a parking lot and she too earns Rs 50 per vehicle.
Bareh says he acts as their advisor since they need a lot of guidance on how to make tourism a sustainable venture there.
On Saturday last, Operation Clean-Up teamed up with Lening K Bareh to pay their respects to the young green warriors at Wahniangleng. Each one was given a pair of shoes, a blanket and Rs 1000 for their school books when the school reopens.
One of the boys, Lamkupar Sohtun said he and his friends attend morning school so that they can help their parents at home after school. The boys seemed keen to continue with their schooling after Bareh assured the family that their fees would be paid regularly.
“The average collection per day on weekdays is about Rs 600 but on weekends it can go up to Rs 3000. This amount is used to pay the salaries of three people,” Bareh informed.
It is clear that Wahniangleng is set to be the next big tourist destination and what is remarkable is that there is already a workable model as far as tackling garbage is concerned. It needs someone with a vision to assist the villagers to develop a sustainable tourism model. Bareh has done exactly that!