Shillong, July 31: Former Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh has claimed that the Shillong Ropeway Project is going to boost the tourism sector and farmers as he questioned the timing of opposition to the project, work on which started two-and-a-half years ago.
“Now for somebody to realise after two-and-a-half years, that this is bad. I don’t understand the logic of it all. I don’t know about the agenda behind the opposition,” Longdoh, an MLA from United Democratic Party (UDP), said on Friday.
He said the project has the support of the local residents as well as cabinet minister and local MLA Sanbor Shullai.
“Let us not forget that this project was also a major initiative and request made by the Raid Laban Pyllun, which we believe is a conglomerate of all Dorbar Shnong of that area,” he said.
Mentioning the employment generation by the project, he said, “Once work started on the ground, a lot of local masons and residents of Lawsohtun were engaged in labour.”
He said the ropeway is expected to benefit both the tourism sector and farmers.
“It is not only going to facilitate speedy movement of tourists, but also those farmers will be able to ferry their produce in a record time of 3 minutes from the base to the top of Shillong Peak,” he said.
Lyngdoh described the ropeway as the first of its kind in a hill station in the country.
“The model adopted is equivalent to what we have in the Alps in Switzerland. And if a project of that scale had had any negative effect on the Alps, we would have known by now,” he said.
Addressing criticism on social media, he said, “The problem with a lot of people is that they first close their minds and after that they open their mouth.”
On complaints about monkeys in the area, Lyngdoh said the issue was unrelated to the project.
“I have watched the comments. One local resident has stated, ‘I stay in this area and these monkeys have been pestering us for 15 years.’ So how do you put the blame on the ropeway project?” he asked.
He further asserted that all statutory approvals were in place.
“Each document was forwarded to the ministry, which is why it has finally received the stamp of approval of the Ministry of Forest and Environment,” Lyngdoh said.
Citing the presence of the President of India at the project’s launch, he added, “It is not a matter of joke that a ministry of that calibre agreed to the proposal and then invited the first citizen of the country. Do you think the President of India would not have got everything cross-checked so that her name will not be dragged into controversy? How would she benefit if this project were to smash her name and her stature as President of India?”
