Exit-Entry Monitoring, Private Vehicles Ban: Meghalaya's Safe Tourism Push

In the wake of the Meghalaya honeymoon murder, the state government has doubled down on its commitment to ensure safe tourism with a multi-pronged action plan aimed at both enhancing visitor experience and eliminating criminal activities linked to the sector.

State tourism minister Paul Lyngdoh, while outlining the government's action roadmap, said that all accommodation units across the state - lodges, resorts, homestays or paying guest facilities-must now mandatorily register every traveller through the government's tourism app. "The app already contains all data of every traveller in Meghalaya. Now these travellers will stay at either resort or homestays and all of the properties have been instructed to register them compulsorily. The data is also being shared with the local police station," he said. He further added, "If anyone doesn't register and there is a breach of the law, the onus falls on the owner of that accommodation unit."

The minister confirmed that the government's broader strategy will also include entry-exit monitoring, mandatory digital tracking, and a ban on private vehicles ferrying tourists to plug security loopholes. The Transport Department has issued a formal notification prohibiting the rental of private two-wheelers and four-wheelers for tourism purposes.

The state cabinet is also set to revisit and strengthen the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) to give it "more teeth." "The decision to revisit the MRSSA and give it more teeth will also help to a large extent for us to be able to control crime," Lyngdoh remarked.

In a major expansion of mobility services for regulated tourism, Mr Lyngdoh announced that the state will induct 50 new prime tourism vehicles by July. "We will introduce a new fresh fleet of this prime vehicles. We will follow the due process of inviting interested entrepreneurs to access this scheme," he informed.

Addressing concerns over a temporary decline in tourist footfall, the minister stressed that no single event can be blamed in isolation. "In any sector, especially a sector as fragile as tourism, there are always ups and downs, but if there's any decline in footfalls, it would not be only because of this one single incident. You have to consider the traffic situation in the city, you have to consider the flash floods and waterlogging at Jorabat. All of these also hinder movement of tourists," Mr Lyngdoh said.

He assured that efforts are underway to resolve these hurdles. "When it comes to the waterlogging at Khanapara and Jorabat, we have just had a discussion at the level of the Chief Ministers of both Assam and Meghalaya."

Mr Lyngdoh said the swift breakthrough in the high-profile murder case involving Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi is a testament to Meghalaya Police's efficiency. "The state police has already made a name for itself by cracking this criminal case of Sonam in record time of seven days. That spectacular performance of the Meghalaya police itself has put the fear to visitors to not play around while travelling to Meghalaya. You can come here as tourists-we will welcome you, but if you create any issues and indulge yourself in criminal activities, the state police is there to immediately jump upon you."

Mr Lyngdoh expressed optimism about the sector's revival, with events like the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival 2025 presenting an opportunity of a major rebound in tourist arrivals. "After this case was solved by the state police, there is a tendency for the sector to again recover and hopefully with our announcement of future events, we expect that there will be an upsurge of visitors again," he said.