Shillong witnessed an unprecedented number of tourists to witness the legendary Bryan Adams performance at the JN Stadium Polo Grounds. Hotels had run out of space so the question to ask is where were the audience that had flown in on the very day of the show parking themselves? Shillong has a limited number of hotels and homestays and no tourist would want to stay away from Shillong when the concert was to be held in the city. To ensure smooth passage of concert goers schools and colleges were closed for the day which is an extraordinary phenomenon that could only have happened in Meghalaya. No other state would have prioritised a concert over education. This happened because of Shillong’s traffic situation and the pressure to keep the streets free from congestions caused by parents who pick up their wards and school buses which occupy a fair part of the road for parking. But the question that remains unanswered is why close down educational institutions that anyway don’t last beyond 1 pm since examinations are ongoing. In fact many schools had scheduled December 10 for giving out the results but had to put that off by a day because of the exigencies posed by the Btyan Adams concert. Any state that has to make a choice between holding a concert on a particular day and closing the doors of educational institutions to ensure free passage to concert attendees on that day is condemned to being the laggard in educational attainments.
The other questions that arise are the carrying capacity of the ecosystem of Meghalaya. How many tourists is too much? Has any study been conducted by an independent agency to accurately determine the carrying capacity of Meghalaya or should we say East and West Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills where tourism is fairly developed? As yet there are not too many tourists visiting the Garo Hills. Even in Khasi Hills, it is East Khasi Hills mainly Sohra, Laitkynsew and Nongriat the home of the Double Decker living root bridge and Dawki which draw the largest number of tourists. Laitlum, Nongjrong and Kongthong follow suit. Not too many tourists visit Nongkhnum, the river island in West Khasi Hills. Those who do visit the place are day tourists from Assam who drive in via Rani, Patharkhmah, Mairang etc., and back.
How many footfalls can any destination take without reaching the breaking point of environmental resilience and also eating into the resources of the local residents such as drinking water availability and a clean surrounding. After all, beyond Shillong there is no waste management facility in place. No one is asking as to what happens to the garbage generated by all tourist destinations, hotels and homestays outside of Shillong at present. Should this not be a huge cause of concern? Another key concern vis a vis Meghalaya tourism is the short selling of destinations. Why should a visit to a living root bridge which showcases the traditional indigenous wisdom of the Khasi people in welding together the roots of the Ficus tree to weave a living bridge across rivers only cost Rs 50 per visitor? This is a ridiculously low pricing model and yet it continues and therefore very little benefits accrue to the communities. A State Tourism Policy on paper without any effective implementation mechanism is a washout.
