Topic for e Essay Competition :

HOW TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE TO

BOOST TOURISM IN ASSAM AND TURN IT INTO ONE OF THE MOST
SOUGHT AFTER DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD ?

“It’s better to see something once

than to hear about it a hundred times”

Introduction : Tourism is an activity that takes place when people move from one
place to another for leisure or for business purpose and stays there for atleast
24 hours.

Tourism has gained a lot of importance in almost all the countries

of the world because it helps people in overcoming boredom , understanding
lifestyle and culture of people and experiencing the beauty of different places.
Apart from these it helps in development of economy, development of
infrastructure , increasing employment ,exchance of culture and much more.

Tourism in Assam : Assam has a wide variety of tourism spots and activities
ranging from eco-tourism to highly advtenturous sporting activities,from
religious destinations to historical monuments. Some of the worth mentioning
are :

I. Spots in different cities and towns :(a) Guwahati: Kamakhya temple,

Umananda, Shri BalajiTemple, Assam state zoo cum
botanical garden, Navagraha temple and war cemetry, Srimanta
Sankardev Kalakshetra, Regional science centre, Bashishta Ashram,
Sukreshwar temple,Ugratara temple ,Lankeswar devalay, Rani sapori
Manasa mandir , Gita mandir, Deepor beel,etc.(b) North Guwagati: Doul
Gobinda Mandir, Dirgheswari temple ,Kanai Boroshi Bowa Sil,etc.
(c) Hajo : Haigrib Madhav Mandir, Kedareswar Mandir, Kameswar
Mandir,Powa Macca, etc.(d)Tezpur : Agnigarh,Da-Parbatia,Mahabhairav
Mandir, etc.(e) Sivasagar : Rang Ghar , Kareng Ghar , Talatol ghar, Siva
Doul, Joy Doul,Devi Doul, Vishnu Doul, Siva sagar,Joy sagar, Charaideo
Maidam, etc.(f) Tinsukia : Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Tamreswari
Mandir etc.(g) Barak valley:Monuments , natural beauty etc.

II. Flora and fauna : Assam has 5 National Parks , 18 Wild Life Sanctuary
and 2 Biosphere Reserve which contains a wide range of plants and
 animals. Specially one horned Rhino, Golden langur, river Dolphins,
roofed Turtle etc are world famous. Assam is also famous for different
species of orchids and bamboos. Jatinga is also a very amazing place to
visit.

III. Ethnic people and culture : In today’s world, people like to understand
the lifestyle of tribal people and their cuisine. Assam has a wide variety
of ethnic people like Bodo, Tiwa, Kachari, Mising , Miri, Karbi, Rabha
Tea tribes etc. and this will also attract tourist.

IV. Mountains, valleys and waterbodies : The Brahmaputra ,Barak and

its numerous tributaries contributes upto 33% of India’s water resource.
The rivers ,waterfalls, lakes,mountains can be great spots for eco tourist
and can also attract youngsters for various sporting activities like rafting,
hiking, mountain biking, trekking, rock climbing,golf etc. In some areas
para gliding and hand gliding can also be undertaken. These sports are
organised occasionally but it is required to be broaden.

Two-way investment in tourism sector : To develop the tourism sector in

Assam first of all infrastructure should be developed , places should be made
clean , safe and well equiped with different facilities and guides. Such
investsments would make the tourist spots world class.This would create an
environment to attract tourist.In such atmosphere investors would invest in
Assam and build hotels, resorts, restura, travel agencies like yatra.com, trivago,
etc. would capture Assam, some will also provide car service and boat service
for the tourists.

How to create tourism friendly atmosphere : Assam has a lot of potential

for becoming one of the most sought after destinations of the world. However,
the tourism sector of Assam has not developed much due to lack of the interest
of government, lack of leadership, insurgency problems, active
terrorism,etc.But if some measures are taken and some facilities are provided
Assam can easily make its place in tourism sector.For this,some of the areas are
needed to be upgraded , like :

I. Development of infrastructure : Assam should have proper connectivity

by roads, airways and waterways. All the areas of Assam should be
connected by these three means of transport and railways. Assam,
should have good connectivity within itself, with the rest of india and
with the whole world, then only tourism can flourish. In this regard the
 aim to make Guwahati the hub of ASEAN by ‘Act East Policy’ will
become a major step.

II. National parks and WLS : To develop tourism, the national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries should be first made free from poaching , then
adequate safety measures should be taken for the visitors. If possible
lodging should be provided inside the forest like Jim Corbett National
Park or larger Corbett tiger reserve.This will attract wildlife lovers. It is
worth mentioning that if highlands are made for the animals to take
shelter during monsoon and flood it will reduce number of deaths of
animals.Though some highlands are already made but it has proved to be
inadequate.

III. Majuli : Majuli is the world’s largest river island which itself becomes a
a factor to attract tourist. However, the rich cultural heritage of Majuli
and the Neo Vaishnavite Satras serve as special attraction. However , this
island is very much affected by flood and erosion. So, government
should give much importance in its conservation. High embankments
should be made along the circumference of Majuli. The height should be
more than the highest water level ever recorded in Brahmaputra.
Roadway should be made along the embankment so that visitors can
enjoy the serenic beauty of the river. Majuli should be connected
with the main land of Assam by bridges on both sides. Proper road
connectivity should be done within the island to connect all the Satras.
The Bhaonas of Majuli are world famous. But it is only displayed only
during Raas festival or other occassions. But if provisions can be made
to showcase all forms of Bhaonas for the whole year in a theatre it would
also attract tourist .

IV. Historical ,spiritual and mythological tourism : The Ahoms and

some other dynasties who ruled Assam built many historical monuments
during their reigns. Apart from this, Assam has hundreds of temples, a
number of Satras,many mosques, churches and gurudwaras. There are
some sites where it is believed that events of Hindu mythology took
place like Kamakhya temple,Agnigarh,Ashwaklanta etc. The government
should bring all of them in focus, give proper connectivity by roads and
railways, give importance to cleanliness and present the monuments in an
attractive way by making statues and sculptures depicting various events
of historical importance.

V. Barak valley : Barak valley can attract both natural lovers and history
lovers.Here tourist can rest amidst the serene lap of nature that is adorned
with rich flora and fauna. People will find here the Kachari fort,Sun gate,
 Lion gate, the King’s Temple and the Shiv temple of Bhuvani hills in
Cachar district. The Siddheshwar Shiv temple,Badarpur fort in
Hailakandi,and the natural beauty of Karimganj will surely attract
tourist.But, many of these monuments lie in a poor state due to lack of
maintanence. .So, resortation works must have to be undertaken to get
these destinaton ready as tourist spots. The road connectivity is also
needed to be improved.

VI. Cultural and traditional heritage : Assam has a huge range of culture
and traditional heritage which consists of the ethnic people, Ahoms, and
the Satriya parampara.If provisions are made for the tourist to experience
their lifestyle and their culture by making provisions for staying in ethnic
village with lodging system similar to that of the tribes and , if
provisions are made to showcase various dance forms of all the tribe ,
Bihu,Satriya dance, the various forms of Bhaonas,the folk songs,
Lokageet,Bor geet, Naams ,Ojapalis,etc. as shows throughout the year in
a theatre it will be a treat to the visitors. If the traditional food items of
Assam can be displayed so that people can buy and eat, it will popularise
the Assamese cuisine than ever before. Of course, in this case the street
food culture can play a big role but it needs to be hygeinic.

VII. Highly adventurous sporting events : Assam is full of rivers,hills and

lakes. These can provide space for various sporting activities as
mentioned before.But it requires good sporting materials to be used,
trained persons to guide the people, good security and efficient rescue
team.

VIII. Commercial complex for traditional materials : Assam is very rich

in its handicrafts. The muga, pat and eri silk of Assam are world
famous. Apart from these the clothing materials of different ethnic
communities, the jewellery of the Assamese people, the brass and bell
metal industry, wood craft, bamboo and cane works, pottery, ivory
works, black smithy , gold and silver smithy are also indespensible
parts of Assamese handicrafts. So, government should create a market for
selling these products by making shops outside various tourist spots like
other states of India. It will surely help in broadening and popularising
the industry worldwide and it will also bring income as well as
employment to the industry.

IX. Business tourism, medical tourism and educational tourism : When

people go from one place to another for business purpose it is called
business tourism and when people go from one place to another for
treatment, it is called medical tourism and when people go from one
place to another to see the actual places, art effects, flora and fauna or
 phenomena that are described in textbooks and lectures is called
educational tour. For business tourism, new industrial policy and taxation
system is required as because these sector is not much developed in
Assam in relation to other states. In this case ‘Assam Global Investors
Summit’ which is going to be held is expected to play a major role. But ,
for the medical tourism, specialist doctors, use of advanced technology
and superspeciality hospitals are required to be increased.Assam has a lot
of places of historical importance , a number of oil and coal fields, tea
estates, world famous sericulture, mask craft.So government should
take steps so that students and other people can come and see how they
are manufactured.

X. Some unusual spots : Assam has a wide range of endangered and rare
species of bamboos ,orchids and herbs. These should be displayed to
tourist and provisions should be made for their buying and selling and
well maintenance.

XI. Acts of God : Natural calamities like flood, cloudburst, earthquake and
landslide are very common in Assam. Government should take steps for
their prevention or reduction of the ill effect. For this high embankments
should be make along the rivers, hills standing along the side of road
should be protected by guard walls to prevent landslides, all the
constructions should be earthquake proof to minimize the affect of this
calamity. Also cities should be made free from artificial flood .In this
case , step taken by government to dredge the Brahmaputra and Barak
is praiseworthy.

XII. Some other activities : Apart from all the steps mentioned above,there
are some other steps required to be taken like, provision of drinking
water and toilets are to be made in all the tourist spots, in some
place like Kamakhya temple, Umananda etc. ropeway should be provided
even if for a time being, parking zones are needed to be made,
government guest house facilities are required to be increased, painting
the ASTC buses with pictures of different monuments and culture of
Assam, loans should be provided at low interest rates to handicraftmen,
advertising the tourism of Assam in all national , international and
foreign channels and in social media will play a crucial role in
development of Assam tourism.I would like to add that government
should come foreward showing humanityand provide basic amenities to
the beggars found in tourist spots. This will make the spots attractive and
will also secure the human rights of people.
How will all these increase investment : The development of tourism sector
by developing the tourism destination, industrial and business policy and
medical development will surely increase investment in Assam by multiple
times. This is because when incoming of tourist will increase, then individuals
and institutions will invest in Assam by building hotels, resorts, restura, parking
zones, car service,boating service for leisure.The local people of Assam will also
increase their investments in handicrafts as the demand of these craft would get
higher due to the increased flow of foreign and domestic tourist.Investment in
Assam will also increase in the industrial and health sector . If suitable
policies are taken, investors would set up their industries and some will also
open private superspeciality hospitals. The development of tourism sector will
also develop the service sector and this will increase foriegn and domestic
investment also.So,we have found that adopting various schemes for
development of tourism by the government would result into three tier
investment in Assam by personnels and institutions : local, national, and foreign.
When these three investments would work to provide the above mentioned
facilities, then tourist would surely get attracted and visit Assam throughout the
year.

Conclusion : Assam is a place known for its natural beauty , heroic history,
colourful culture and hospitality of the people. Such a place will be like a
heaven for the tourist; and due to the flow of tourist the government and people
of Assam and India and the investors will be highly benefited. So, Assam will
become Goddess Lakshmi for all of us. In this case, the writing of Dr. Bhupen
Hazarika is most appropriate . He wrote :

“Gotei Jiban Bisarileo

Alekh Divas Rati
Asom Desor Dore Napao
Iman Rasal Mati”
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NAME : UPASANA DEVI

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