Shillong, Feb 27: The CII organised Infra Dialogue and Meghalaya on Tuesday in Shillong with the theme Opportunities,Challenges and Way Forward.
While addressing the Inaugural Session, Mr. Robert G Lyngdoh, Former home minister of Meghalaya and Vice Chancellor, Martin Luther Christian University , stated that “Due to various limitations of the airport near Shillong, it is impacting tourism in the state.
Another issue is of reaching Shillong due to heavy traffic.” Road planners need to bring in alternate approaches to Shillong to address traffic issues, he urged. He also appreciated the improvements taking place in Meghalaya over a period of time which includes improved power supply.
He also highlighted that Tourism sector has the potential to drive Meghalaya’s economy. There is a need to make the local youths understand the various opportunities lying in the Tourism sector, he added.
Influx and joblessness can’t co exist, Mr. Lyngdoh highlighted. Therefore, capacity building of local youths to understand the opportunities is important and also micro finance companies need to work in the tourism sector to support local entrepreneurs, he said.
Mr. Pradeep Bagla, Chairman, CII North East Infrastructure Core Committee and Managing Director, Amrit Cements Ltd. while delivering the welcome address highlighted the potential opportunities in the state.Mr. Rajan Bhattacharya, Director, Gloenterprises CS Pvt Ltd delivered the Concluding Remarks.
Besides, there was a Panel Discussion on Challenges, Opportunities and Way Forward for the Infrastructure Development in Meghalaya. The discussions were deliberated by Senior Officials from NHIDCL, BSNL, GRSE Ltd, North East India Tourism Confederation (NEITC), Impulse Social Enterprises besides many others.
