CM’s B’desh visit ends on a high
From CK Nayak
Dhaka: Tourism, trade, and transit were the three ‘Ts’ for Dr Mukul Sangma who concluded his official visit to Bangladesh on Thursday.
Meeting various top leaders including Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, several cabinet ministers, top officials and trade bodies, Dr Sangma wanted replication of the South East Asia tourist circuit drawing lakhs of tourists which has become the backbone of these countries.
“Look at Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand who have lured lakhs of international tourists each year earning billions from this upcoming industry,” he pointed out.
In the same way India, Bangladesh and Bhutan together could become one of the world’s biggest tourist circuit if these countries coordinated properly, Dr Sangma said.
In most of his meetings he was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong and Cabinet Minister AL Hek, all of whom left for Shillong by road on Thursday after a series of meetings, official sources said.
Hasina too agreed with the idea and said there should be a joint initiative by Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan to promote tourism in the region.
“Such initiative would bring immense benefit for all these countries and help eradicate the basic problem of poverty in these countries,” she told the delegation who called on her at her residence. Tourists from all over the world will be mesmerized at the sights of a hill station like Shillong, tea gardens of Assam, and the mystic Himalayas of Bhutan. Vast sea shores of Bangladesh and its huge rivers can be excellent source of beach tourism, he said.
These countries can also be a confluence of a varied culture, religion, and population, experts said. The belt with several historic and tourist spots is also dotted with many world famous wild life sanctuaries, national parks and biosphere reserves.
But this concept can be translated to reality if there is connectivity to enable the tourists to travel within these neighboring countries, Dr Sangma said. Giving one example the Chief Minister said that Sylhet international airport in Bangladesh can be accessed from Meghalaya and Assam in few hours by road and tourists can avail flights from here to even London and Dubai in much less time and expenditure, he said.
Incidentally, Bhutan’s Druk Air is already in talks with Bangladesh to introduce its flights from Sylhet and Dhaka airports. India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan can also mutually introduce their flights for the tourists, experts said.
Dr Sangma wanted interlinked surface transport like Shillong-Dhaka bus service in the pattern of Agartala-Dhaka bus route. Such services can be extended to other towns in all these countries to facilitate tourism, he said in one of the meetings on tourism, trade, and connectivity, while adding that the old pre-partition railway connectivity can also be revived.
Besides, both Bangladesh and India have traditional water routes which should be revived, Dr Sangma observed. Where there are topographical problems “multi-modal” transport could be availed, he suggested.
But the economy of the region also needs a boost along with tourism, Dr Sangma said. “This needs large scale investments and revival of old trade links like border haats the way it was recently done along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border,” he said.
Business representatives present in the meetings said the region is rich in minerals. Each country should set up factories and utilize the available minerals like coal, lime stone, and forest products, they said adding the proposed Trans-Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railways linking all these counties can be of great help.
Dr Sangma and other chief ministers, who were a part of the visiting delegation, said the recent initiative by both India and Bangladesh for demarcating the entire border, combating cross border terrorism, crime and more people to people contact can go a long way in fostering a prosperous and friendly relationship. Bangladesh like Bhutan has apprehended many Northeast-based extremist and handed them to India which was widely appreciated at all levels.
The first ever visit by Dr Sangma and three other chief ministers (Tarun Gogoi, Manik Sarkar and Lal Thanhawla) as part of the Prime Minister’s delegation drew appreciation in all sections of Bangladesh including its media. “The chief ministers’ presence in Dhaka should, properly speaking, have acted as a spur to us in our understanding of India’s Northeast and the other way round,” an editorial in one of the leading publications of Bangladesh said.
The chief ministers, who travelled along with the Prime Minister, were kept in the same Sonar Gaon Hotel and participated in all official functions. Their presence and role was appreciated in all meetings by the host country’s dignitaries.
