In yet another embarrassing incident the tourists and visitors were mercilessly thrashed by locals during the just concluded Adventure@Mechukha festival. There was much hype around festival with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan joining the first day of the event. This festival is organized with a motive of promoting Mechuka as a tourist destination. With Salman Khan attending this year’s edition, the area has caught the attention of rest of the world. But the ugly incident of attack on tourists will badly damage the reputation of Mechukha.
Time and again experts especially those working in the field of tourism has emphasized on the need to create better awareness among citizens. If local people behave in a hostile manner, no tourist will visit the area. Arunachal is blessed with enchanting natural beauty and is a paradise for the tourist wanting to explore nature. The state government has also been organizing various fairs and festivals to promote state as tourist destination. But all this efforts will fail if the local populace do not develop welcoming attitude towards tourists. The Mechukha incident once again shows that still much is needed to be done to change the attitude of people. Also it’s time people of Arunachal introspect. It is a reality that not everyone will get government job of their desire. Therefore it is sectors like tourism which will offer self employment opportunities in years to come. However if citizens continue to act irresponsibly towards visiting guests then this sector too will be a closed chapter.