Menchukha, Nov 8 (ANI): Adventure festival - adventure@menchukha - aims at niche tourism by popularising all exotic locations of Arunachal Pradesh, said Tourism Parliamentary Secretary P D Sona on Friday.
Thrilled at the overwhelming response to the three-day festival that was declared open by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki here on Thursday, Sona told media persons that the tourism department in collaboration with the union tourism department has been planning various activities beyond the eye-catching scenic beauty to prolong the stay of the tourists, particularly adventure lovers.
"We are not interested in bulk tourists till enough accommodation and logistics are ready," he reasoned.
The event is a stepping-stone to woo selected group of tourists with the locals terming it as 'never seen and never heard before happening'. Being an offbeat destination, Menchukha has to offer something unique, like developing good camp site and developing a world class golf course in the naturally available conducive atmosphere to meet the expectations of trekkers, adventurers and nature lovers. Moreover, the local youth have evinced keen interest to undergo training as para gliders and rafters showing a positive indication, informed Sona, who was flanked by West Siang deputy commissioner M K Sahu and Menchukha ADC Ravi Dhawan.
Citing the example of Sikkim and Ladakh where the government has encouraged home stay facilities by providing incentive to overcome accommodation facilities, Sona said the department has begun an exercise by involving experts to develop a home stay guideline.
On communication bottleneck, he said that the present advanced landing ground here developed in 50's is being developed by the Indian Air Force by extending its 1.3 km landing strip to a 2.2 km to facilitate landing of civilian fixed-wing aircraft. This would solve half of the communication problem as the adventurers would love to fly by air to reach this tourist attraction, he said.
About 20 acres of land have been identified to be handed over to the defence authorities and the airfield should be ready within three years, Sahu disclosed.
Located at an altitude of 6,300 feet, the township tugged in the western Himalayas, would be linked by the double-lane Trans-Arunachal Highway to facilitate speedy road communication, Sona added.
On future plans to showcase Menchukha's uniqueness and vast tourism potential, Sona said: "We are working on untold stories of this magnificent land including the 1962 Battle of Menchukha and the Indian Army has planned to develop a war memorial here".
After two days' heavy rainfall, the sky cleared on November 5 offering clear weather, and bright sun light which brought cheers to the 4,000 local residents.
The para gliders, during the day, went to unbelievable heights revolving over the snow-capped mountain looking like birds while the sounds of trap shooting intermittently rented the air at the venue. Some went for mountain biking while the tourists headed for various attractive destinations, including Samdin Yangcha gompa, Dorjeeling gompa, and the Yorlung border post.
Menchuka danced and sang to the tune of Indian idol-4 winner Sourabhee Debbarma till late night Thursday while the traditional culture programme left an indelible impression.
As the clock struck 4 pm today, the cultural evening started to provide respite to the adventurers after a hectic and exhausting day. By Pradeep Kumar (ANI)
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