Taxi service associations and travel agencies based in Guwahati – the communication hub for tourism in Meghalaya – on Wednesday resumed their services to Shillong, the hill station where a fight on May 31 snowballed into a communal issue.
Resumption of transport services between the two cities followed relaxation of curfew in Shillong for five hours from 7 a.m. in the 14 troubled localities and a two-hour reduction of night curfew across the city.
“Night curfew from today (Wednesday) is from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. We hope it is safe enough for the night curfew to be lifted soon,” East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner P.S. Dhkar said.
“Some cab operators are still apprehensive, but quite a few began operating today. Five days of idleness is quite a loss, particularly as this is the peak tourist season to Shillong and other places such as Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram where people go to enjoy the rain,” Nitul Das, member of one of the tourist taxi associations in Guwahati, told The Hindu .
Blow to tourism
The Federation of Shillong Hotels said the breakdown of law and order has been a setback for the tourism industry of the State.
“The turn of events has plunged the industry into darkness. Pelting of stones at tourist vehicles from Assam (after the violence started) has harmed the image of Shillong, which had over the years earned the reputation of one of the best tourist destinations in the Northeast,” Arnold M. Lanong, secretary of the foundation, told reporters.
The federation said the current situation has directly affected vendors, tea and food stalls, tourist spots, local taxis, tourist cabs, home stays, guesthouses and hotels, impacting the economic condition of the State. “There has been no hotel and guesthouse booking since June 1, and it might take some time before visitors regain confidence about coming to Shillong, the gateway to other tourist attractions in Meghalaya,” a Shillong-based tour operator said.
Former State home minister R.G. Lyngdoh, who has formed a group of citizens toward restoration of Shillong’s cosmopolitan appeal, said Meghalaya can ill-afford a break in tourism inflow as its economy has already been crippled by a coal mining ban four years ago.
Study of land documents
The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) has decided to study land documents of the residents of Punjabi Lane or Sweepers Lane. It will accordingly send its suggestions to the high-level committee that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma constituted on Monday to look into the demand for relocating Punjabi Lane residents, who are mostly Dalit Sikhs whose ancestors were brought by the British 150 years ago.
The KHADC executive committee met on Wednesday for a solution to the Punjabi Lane issue. It directed the Syiem (king) of Mylliem to furnish documents and submit a brief report on the status of land at Punjabi Lane, also called Harijan Colony. The colony comes under the jurisdiction of Mylliem, one of 25 Himas or kingdoms of the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya.
“The stand of the State government is to shift authorised settlers working under different government departments and evict the illegal ones,” KHADC chief executive member PN Syiem said.
But Manjit Singh Rai, member of the National Commission for Minorities, who reached Shillong Tuesday evening, questioned the logic behind shifting the Punjabi Lane residents as “they have been residing for almost 200 years”.
