A hill state that hardly makes it to the national news for anything positive is now labelled as the “crime prone hills.” A television news channel showed a male relative of the still missing Sonam Raghuvanshi, making atrociously disparaging remarks about Meghalaya that labels it a state of ruffians and outlaws – a state with no governance and one where people sell body parts. The person says on camera that if Meghalaya had used drones, satellites and helicopters then Raja Raghuvanshi would not have died and Sonam, his wife, would not be missing. The Government of Meghalaya can no longer brush these sordid allegations aside and move on with the plea that what was said was the outburst of grieving relatives and hence should not be taken to heart. The reputation of 34 lakh people is now at stake and since that news channel is a mainstream one the news clip has gone viral also because news related to deaths and murders generate great interest.
What is of immediate concern is how such news can harm Meghalaya’s tourism potential. Sohra alone has hundreds of homestays apart from luxury hotels and resorts. Then there are places beyond Sohra like Nongwar, Laitkynsew, Mawmluh etc. What will be the impact on those who derive their incomes from tourism and who are in turn employing many young people from the area? It is expected that the Tourism Department would have gone on an overdrive to call the tour operators and homestay owners of the area to discuss what exactly could have gone wrong and the possible reasons why the Indore couple went off the track on their own without a guide.
Should it not be a Tourism Policy that people cannot venture into a destination without a guide – along the lines of the Mawphlang Sacred Grove? If the Dain Thlen and Wei Sawdong Falls are closed to tourists as claimed by the Sohra Police then why is there no sign board there to declare that in black and white? Some tourists evidently still venture close to that destination and are not turned away because there is no one to police that area. All these are subjects of discussion. Merely because tourism is community-led the Government cannot absolve itself of the major responsibility because when an untoward incident happens it is the Government and not the community that is held accountable. The recent incident is a clear example that should anything adverse happen to any tourist in Meghalaya the blame squarely falls on the Government’s shoulders because it is mandated with maintaining the rule of law. It is the state that must utilise the police force in full strength to search for tourists that go missing. Considering what had happened to the Hungarian tourist who also had a misadventure in the Sohra region, the Tourism Department should have immediately made it compulsory for every tourist or group of tourists to have a guide or not be allowed to enter the place. Tourism is serious business and a large part of that is to ensure the safety and security of tourists.
