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 has led to an increase in tourist footfall. This has also led to mushrooming of tourism related business opportunities.
Considering the large footfall of tourists 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.
He also inspected the ongoing construction of the tourist log houses at Daribok. He said that the new tourism amenities which are coming up will be a boon for 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 intervention 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 will be introduced for communication of tourists from designated areas to Daribok.
He said that the Government will engage with the community further to ensure different sustainable tourism intervention 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 not-for-profit organization 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.