Isolated incidents should not tarnish Meghalaya's image: Tourism Minister
Meghalaya Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Thursday (May 29, 2025) said it was unfair to label the hill State unsafe for tourists based on a couple of incidents reported in less than two months.
He said the recent cases— the death of a Hungarian tourist and the disappearance of a couple from Indore in Madhya Pradesh within a span of 57 days in East Khasi Hills district— highlight the need to ensure that visitors do not venture beyond designated safe zones without authorised guides.
There has been no trace of the Indore couple, Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi, since May 24, when they reportedly set out for Sohra (Cherrapunjee) from Shillong on a hired two-wheeler. The vehicle was later found abandoned by the roadside.
Search operations by the police and local communities, assisted by the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) using thermal drones, have so far yielded no results. Incessant rainfall and slippery conditions have hampered the efforts, officials said.
Two MPs from Madhya Pradesh— Shankar Lalwani and Sumer Singh Solanki— who are in Meghalaya to monitor the ongoing search operation, said the State authorities had not spared any effort in locating the missing couple.
'Questions are being raised about whether or not Meghalaya is safe for tourists. A person from Meghalaya has not been traced after disappearing in Thailand. Does that mean Thailand is unsafe for tourists?' Mr. Lyngdoh asked.
He said tourism-related mishaps occur across the world, and that the death of the Hungarian national and the disappearance of the Indore couple should not be viewed as evidence of systemic failure. 'These incidents are unfortunate, but we cannot possibly police every inch of all tourist destinations in the State,' he said.
Mr. Lyngdoh added that guiding systems, particularly at ecologically sensitive sites such as the living root bridges, were already in place. 'However, tourists venture beyond designated safe zones,' he noted.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum has demanded stricter regulations barring tourists from venturing out without a guide while trekking or hiking in rural and challenging terrain.
'The recent incidents necessitate a system that makes it mandatory for all visitors to take a local guide. Using a guide is voluntary now, but a strict policy can ensure total safety for visitors,' said Alan West Kharkongor, president of the Forum.
Prior to the Indore couple's disappearance, Hungarian tourist Puskas Zsolt was reported missing after checking into a hotel in Shillong on March 29. His decomposed body was retrieved on April 10 from a steep slope near Ramdait village in the Shella area of Sohra subdivision, close to the Bangladesh border.
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Mandatory guide rule for treks in Sohra following tourist deaths
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