Shillong, July 27: The tour operators of Meghalaya have called the State government into question for giving a free run to the pressure groups, especially in Khasi – Jaintia Hills, after members of Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) stopped and sent back many Assam registered vehicles who planned to travel to different part of Sohra and Dawki on Friday.

In the name of combating influx, the pressure groups have been illegally conducting document checks of migrant labourers in the Khasi – Jaintia Hills for the past few weeks and have sent back over 2500 labourers. They have also established illegal check gates on the state’s borders, checking documents of migrants and tourists alike. Now, they have gone a step further by demanding entry/ registration paper from the tourists in the state.

Condemning the illegal actions of the pressure group, in a joint statement, the tour operators said, “We, the immediate stakeholders in the tourism industry strongly condemn the unfortunate incident that happened this morning where tourists and travellers have been illegally stopped from proceeding to the various tourist spots in Sohra and Dawki region by so called NGO/pressure group. As you are aware, the tourism industry in the state has reached its momentum in the last few years and today’s single incident has affected the arduous work that we as stakeholders have build up over the years.”

The tour operators comprised of Tour Operators Association of Meghalaya (TOAM), Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum (MRTF), Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF), Tour Guides Association of Meghalaya, Central Body (TGAM -CB), Federation of Shillong Hotels (FOSH), Department of Tourism & Travel Management, Martin Luther Christian University, and Department of Tourism & Hotel Management, NEHU.

They expressed shock on the current state of lawlessness in Shillong where they said the ‘pressure groups are having a free run in the State and behaving like the government’. “We, the tourism stakeholders are in a state of shock to observe that various local NGOs/Pressure groups are having a free run in the State and behaving like the government,” they said.

Pointing out that Friday’s single action by the pressure groups has affected years of building the tourism industry in the state and affected direct and indirect stakeholders who have invested in the tourism industry, they urged the pressure groups to refrain from such embarrassing and illegal acts of intimidation to tourists and travellers who are in no way involved in the politics of the state.

“We have been mere silent spectators on the various issues of lawlessness in and around Shillong and Ri Bhoi areas which have resulted in violence and intimidation of workers who are involved in tourism infrastructure works. These incidents of lawlessness have reached a level that even the tourists visiting the state today were not even spared. Another fallout of the above, is the recent Advisory of the US Government warning their citizens against visiting Meghalaya – this does not result in discouraging the US tourists only but gives a loud message to all foreign as well as domestic tourists desiring to visit Meghalaya,” they further pointed out.

They vehemently condemned all the acts of intimidation and violence and demanded action as per law upon the individuals/organizations responsible for the prevailing lawlessness in order to restore faith in the tourists visiting the state.

They said Friday’s incident had caused a loss of 30% of the accommodation bookings apart from revenue generated by indirect stakeholders. They further expect another 50% cancellation of tours and activities from Saturday onwards as news of this incident has travelled rapidly all over the country.

At the same time, they also apologized on behalf of the peace loving people of Meghalaya for any inconvenience caused to their travel plans and urged them to visit Meghalaya again.

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