Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday visited the newly created tourism amenities at Daribok in the foothills of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in Garo Hills.
The newly created viewing deck at Daribok and the approach road from Oragitok to Daribok have led to an increase in tourist footfall. This has also led to mushrooming of tourism-related business opportunities.
Considering the rise in tourist footfall in the bio-sensitive area of Nokrek, the Chief Minister has asked the departments to work in collaboration and come up with measures to ensure that the area is free from waste, plastics and over-crowding.
Sangma also inspected the ongoing construction of the tourist log houses at Daribok. He said that the new tourism amenities, which are coming up at Daribok, will be a boon for the tourism in Garo Hills region.
He also said that sustainable intervention should be initiated in the area with zero littering and proper waste management. He has also directed the administration and tourism officials to engage with the local community and start interventions like regulated entry with ticketing and parking of vehicles at designated areas away from the eco-sensitive area of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve.
He also informed that electric vehicles would be introduced for tourists to communicate from designated areas to Daribok.
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He said that the government would engage with the community further to ensure different sustainable tourism interventions for the benefit of the locals. He also took the opportunity to urge visiting tourists not to litter in the area.
During his visit to Daribok, he also inspected the Sadhana Forest Information and Learning Centre, which is empowering the locals with conservation knowledge, particularly the children. Sadhana Forest is an international volunteer-based NGO that aims to teach local citizens and volunteers about environmental renewal and sustainable living. In 2003, Yorit and Aviram Rozin started Sadhana Forest in Auroville, India.
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