Meghalaya Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Wednesday announced that the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has cleared ₹220 crore for tourism projects in Sohra. The initiatives aim to showcase village life and local culture, with a strong focus on promoting experiential tourism in the region.
Lyngdoh added that the historic sericulture farm at Lawsohtun will be converted into a heritage resort and integrated with the upcoming Shillong Ropeway project. He further shared that Union Minister of DoNER Jyotiraditya M. Scindia is expected to lay the foundation stone during the Cherry Blossom Festival later this year. This marks the first time the Ministry of DoNER has approved investment plans specifically for the tourism sector.
“All this while it has always been the Ministry of Tourism and funding agencies like ADB NDB. But this year the Union Minister Honorable Union Minister of Donor Scindia has cleared a total kitty of 220 crore projects for tourism projects at Sohra and he is likely to attend this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival and lay foundation stones for a few projects in and around Sohra up to the tune of 220 crores for these major initiatives and innovations in the Sohra region,” Lyngdoh said.
Speaking on the heritage project, he added, “A couple of months back I had taken an inspection of our textiles complex located at Lawsohtun which is close to the Shillong Roadway project and in the presence of officers of both the Textiles and the Tourism Department, we have now gone ahead to push for the creation of a heritage resort which will be the oldest of its kind in the Northeast. The Sericulture farm at Lausa Thun was initiated and started by the British in 1925. Now it’s a heritage project and to further enhance and elevate the experience of visitors to Meghalaya, we will combine activities of both the Textiles Department and the Tourism Department in order to also cater to the potential rise of footfall in that region once the Shillong Ropeway project is completed, hopefully in two years from now.”
