High-End Tourism: A Solution for the Northeast
State like Sikkim and Meghalaya, or countries like Nepal and Bhutan largely dependent on tourism is faced with a classical dilemma: More from less, or damage from bulk but irresponsible tourists. The UNESCO’s possible granting Meghalaya’s Living Root Bridges the world heritage status has fired this debate anew
Fullmoon Khongla, he said his name was. Having visited Meghalaya multiple times and made friends across communities there, I was aware that Khasis, many of them influenced by Christianity, tend to take on English names. But what was remarkable was that this lad, barely sixteen, had a name that had an environmental connect. And that is true of most ancient tribes who originally had shamanistic practices, and are very close to nature.
So Fullmoon was his name and he was taking me to the Living Root Bridge at Mawlynnong, in East Khasi Hills. “I have read about these bridges but never seen one,” I told him, and felt I must bring some sense of pride in his growing-up mind. “This is a wonderful creation by your ancestors, and now the UNESCO will give it a special status. Do you know that?” I asked, flashing a condescending smile at him.
He smiled too, but it was a sad sort of smile, and then he said, with a wisdom I never thought would sit in this boy’s young head: “Everybody knows that, and that is why we are so worried,” he said.
“Worried?” I asked, surprised. “Yes. You see, then people from all over the world come… so many so many people, so much walking on the bridge, what happens if bridge collapse!” he frowned. “How will I go to my village across the river deep down that flows like a demon in the rains times,” he said in whatever English he could summon to his aid.
So many tourists, so much pressure on the carrying capacity on a highly fragile ecosystem… this is the same damnation I have heard in Sikkim in the Teesta Valley. All over Bhutan. In Darjeeling. And also in Nepal, though that is one place I have not visited. Everywhere, this is a fight to save the economy and yet keep that sustainable. It is not Meghalaya’s problem alone. But I shall come to them a little later.
Living Root Bridges
These bridges, found across the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, are awesome examples of the tribes’ inherent understanding of nature and their ingenuity in harnessing their ancient traditional environmental knowledge – even their mythology ‑ and creating a technology out of that!
Meghalaya, the incredibly beautiful state, has scores of torrential rivers and streams passing through deep chasms between two high hills. So imaginably, Meghalaya in ancient times may be visualised as islands of villages across both sides of the rapids. That was a problem.
But the ancients solved that problem, and they took recourse to their mythology. The Khasi mythology, as my friend Binayak Das, journalist, had explained, is that the word “Shillong” possibly came from the Khasi concept if Uh Shullong Hi, which means One Who Created Itself. That was the ancient cosmogony of the Khasis, but where did they themselves come from and how?
Khasi mythology has it is they descended from the heavens using just such a Root Bridge made by their God! And that is how the Khasis came and they brought in that cosmic technology.
The Living Root Bridge is made of the roots of the rubber plant, or Ficus elastica. These roots are grown by training them through the hollow trunks of the betel nut trees, or the areca nut palms, that were existing across rivers, so the rubber plant’s tender roots are sent from both sides of the rivers till they joined somewhere in the middle. What ingenuity.
Some of these suspension bridges ‑ like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco‑ are even double-deckers, with two bridges one above the other! If these do not get UNESCO Heritage Status, what will? The UNESCO most probably will, as it is already listed. But that is what Fullmoon is bothered about.
“Today in morning, one Sir and one Madam come,” he said, and I realised that since in these parts, the words sir and madame mean a special status, that a foreign white couple had come, “and now you come. But if the Unseco recognise us then hundreds of Sirs and Madams will come everyday, and they will come with plastics and papers, Then if bridge collapse? Not good for us!”
A Himalayan Worry
In the entire Himalayan range, this is now spreading like wildfire: the demand for restriction in the number of tourists, and the only sustainable solution is high-end tourism: high spending tourists, but fewer in numbers and responsible in their behaviour.
Across the fragile Himalayan ecosystems, there are hidden scores of such prize knowledge systems, ingenious constructions etc. In Sikkim, for instance, there is the ancient knowledge systems of traditional medicinal herbs and plants. There are also surprisingly sturdy bamboo suspension bridges which the endangered Lepcha tribals’ ancients knew how to make. These were the only bridges that survived the 2023 floods, while all recently made concrete bridges have been swept away.
The medicinal plants and herbs are the sole preserve of the Lepcha community of Dzongu in North Sikkim. The area is already highly fragile and made even more brittle by the unwarranted and illegal construction of a huge dam project for hydel power. Besides, most of the herbs and plants are known in the ancient knowledge systems, but as of now, their active principles are not known to the western pharma world.
But with a UNESCO branding, if thousands of foreign tourists flood North Sikkim, the chances of biopiracy shoots up manifold. Then these herbs could be stolen, and their active principles patented by foreign companies, and we shall have to buy back oir own ancient knowledge in the form of costly branded medicines from them. This is a massive worry.
The Lepchas’ “Young Turks” so the say, are up in arms and last year’s disastrous GLOF of the South Lhonak Lake has even further set them on the warpath. Fortunately, the very wise erstwhile kings of Chogyals, had more than century ago, declared that Dzongu is a “Lepcha Reserve” and no outsiders shall be allowed wantonly.
But the increasing demand for allowing more tourists by the tour and travel agents, taxi unions and hotel owners is dangerous, and the politicians of the near past have not shown any inclination to protect Sikkim from the rush of irresponsible tourists. High end tourism is not on the agenda of the government. So the taxi industry has now seen a surge of Bihari owners, and barring North Sikkim, almost all medium and small sized hotels are on lease to Bengalis, who come with hordes of workers from their own community.
The Bhutan Path
Bhutan and its rulers have always shown rare wisdom in almost all spheres of life in their kingdom. A few years ago, some Indian tourists had been there at a sacred site called Dochula, high up in the mountains, There, in full view of the locals, some of these adventurous young men stood right on top of a very sacred structure, and took selfies and also got their friends to take pictures!
The outrage was massive. And in response, the Bhutan government has levied a huge “environment tax”. Bhutan’s tourism tax is called the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF). The SDF is a daily levy that supports Bhutan’s development. The current fee is $100 per day for foreign adults and $50 per day for children ages 6–12.
For Indian tourists, the SDF is Rupees 1,200 per night per adult and kids are exempted. But that is huge for middle class families, who are usually four to six people who visit Bhutan. With travel cost, plus hotel charges, then internal trave to tourism sites, this has made Bhutan a distant dream for the hundreds of Indian families desiring to visit the country.
“This has cut down tourist inflow, but this actually means more money and less damage for our country, our heritage and our environment,” says DK Subba, a travel agent. The hotel owners will possibly hike their tariffs to make up for the losses in reduced tourist inflow. But they are conscious that their heritage cannot be lost at any cost.
And this is the only path left for Meghalaya, Sikkim, Bhuta and Nepal, if they want to sustain their economies via tourism.
Fortunately for Maghalaya, some seniors in the government are listening. MTDC Director, Alan West Kharkongor told the Shillong Times about the government’s efforts to seek the heritage tag but echoed concerns about stakeholder inclusion. “In Meghalaya, the real custodians of these bridges are the people, not the government. The community’s role cannot be sidelined,” Kharkongor said.
He urged the authorities to ensure that the interests of local communities are safeguarded, particularly as these bridges, while resilient, have limitations. “World Heritage sites come with restrictions, and for the living root bridges, measures to regulate the weight they can carry must be in place to prevent damage,” he added.
And it is better that Sikkim too takes a leaf out of that sentiment.
What's Your Reaction?
