For the first time the Hima Sohra organised a meeting of stakeholders to take a holistic look at tourism not just from the scenic perspective but on how to manage the garbage that is generated on a daily basis from the scores of homestays, hotels and resorts and the viewpoints. This issue was never seriously discussed in the past. It’s timely that the Dorbar Hima Sohra has taken up this critical issue and is trying to work out ways on how to tackle the garbage conundrum. Beyond Shillong there is no waste management system; no landfill, no collection system. Most homestays are burning their non-biodegradable waste which includes in the main plastics. It is a known fact that the smoke emanating from burning plastics is toxic for the environment. Till date Meghalaya has not been able to implement the High Court order to ban non-biodegradable plastic carry bags. While a few departmental stores have been giving cloth bags on payment to their customers, vegetable, fish and meat vendors continue to dish out plastic bags including the black ones that are known to be carcinogenic.
Such meets are a necessary part of the tourism ecosystem because regular review meetings will bring out the problems and help find collective answers. What Meghalaya is selling as its tourism package is the environment which includes the greenery, the swift flowing rivers, waterfalls, the clean surroundings and above all a tourist friendly people who treat tourists with respect. This in turn results in better tourism outcomes because each pleasant experience is recorded on social media and the word spreads thereby enticing other tourists to visit and others to revisit the place. Sohra has since long been a tourist destination, much before it was sold via enticing advertisements. It has a culture that is genteel and placid. Its fog and mists and the incessant monsoon rains are what people come to experience. What has been lacking is a gentle nudge on tourists to practise responsible tourism which means not littering the places they visit and to make it a habit of taking their waste back with them in a carry bag and emptying that into a rubbish bin when they see one. Tourism is a like mutual benefit scheme. Homestay owners, hoteliers and those who offer their services as tour guides or sell food to visitors all earn their livelihoods from this trade. What the tourists look for are beautiful sights and sounds and a delightful experience which they carry back as fond memories and in turn narrate to their friends and families who then make their itineraries with Sohra as the destination of choice.
What the Hima Sohra has initiated for managing garbage should now become the model for other tourist destinations as well, for burning is not the solution. It’s high time the Government exercises its mind on providing waste management facilities to all tourist destinations in the state. If the environment is the selling point then it’s conservation is a prime duty of all tour operators and homestay owners. Only then will we have the much talked about “sustainable tourism” in Meghalaya.
