By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 29: Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh, on Thursday, said tourism-related tragedies are a global phenomenon and Meghalaya is not immune to such incidents.
His remarks came amid a relentless search in Sohra for an Indore-based tourist couple who went missing last weekend.
Replying to a question on whether Sohra remains a safe tourist destination, Lyngdoh said: “Why not? The fact that we have a robust ecosystem in place is proven by the growing footfall in the Sohra region… All hotels, resorts, and homestays are packed to capacity.”
He expressed concern over the missing couple, insisting such incidents do not indicate systemic failure. “This unfortunate incident only means that we cannot actually police every single inch of the tourist destinations, he said.
Drawing comparisons, Lyngdoh noted, “For instance, we have a gentleman from Shillong who travelled to Thailand and did not return; he has not been traced till today. Would you then say Thailand is not safe for tourists?”
He clarified that local guiding systems are already in place, especially in ecologically sensitive destinations like the Living Root Bridges.
“However, when tourists venture beyond designated safe zones, the role of the government becomes limited. We have local guides everywhere, but what can be the role of the government when somebody decides to venture beyond what is considered safe?” he asked.
Lyngdoh pointed out that the steady growth in tourist footfall is a testimony to Sohra’s popularity.
On the government’s immediate response to the missing couple’s case, he said: “We have taken up the matter right at the level of the Chief Minister, who spoke to his (Madhya Pradesh) counterpart, and senior cabinet minister, Bah Hek, went to the site on behalf of the state government.”
He asserted that the government took all possible steps to locate the missing couple.
The tourism minister acknowledged the emotional weight of the situation on the members of the missing couple’s family, who have been critical of the efforts. “They are affected by the incident. Obviously, they will say a lot of things, sometimes overstating things,” he said.
He underscored Meghalaya’s unique challenges. “You have to realise that Meghalaya has a challenging topography and terrain. This is nothing like the plains of India. We even have villages which are not easy to reach, which is why we have the living root bridges. Our ancestors came up with these bridges to move from one village to the next,” he said.
Stricter rules for tourists demanded
Following the death of a Hungarian tourist in April and the disappearance of a couple from Indore, the Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum (MRTF) has pitched for stricter rules that bar tourists from venturing out without a guide while trekking or hiking in rural areas and hostile terrains.
“A system that makes it mandatory for whoever comes to Meghalaya to take a local guide is the best way to go forward. Right now, it is voluntary, but such a policy or rule will ensure a hundred per cent safety for visitors,” MRTF president Alan West Kharkongor said on Thursday.
The disappearance of the Indore couple was the second such case in the East Khasi Hills district in more than a month. In the first case, Hungarian Puskas Zsolt was found dead on April 10 after checking into a Shillong hotel on March 29.
His decomposed body was retrieved from a steep slope near Ramdait village in the Shella area of Sohra subdivision, close to the Bangladesh border.