Culture and Tourism should be a Tool for Vibrant Bodoland: Union Minister Pabitra Margherita

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: Synchronizing with the observation of the 73rd foundation day of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) in New Delhi on Saturday, an open discussion on indigenous cultural meet was held on the topic “Building vibrant Bodoland through tourism and culture” and reiterated the development of BTR with culture and tourism. The discussion was chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Rwngwra Narzary.

In his inaugural speech, the CEM of BTC, Pramod Boro, said the present government of BTR had been working for the development of the region in all spheres. He said the Bodos had their own distinct culture, tradition, and language and have been preserving their identity and culture with a conservative approach. The government of BTR has decided to upgrade and develop at least ten tourist spots for economic development, he said, adding that the council is looking forward to taking advantage of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a multi-crore project of Bhutan bordering India. He also said there had been many aspects and potentials of development of tourism in sericulture, handloom, wildlife, national parks, etc. 

In his speech, the union minister of state for external affairs, Pabitra Margherita, said the Bodoland Mahatsav in New Delhi was a laudable programme to expose its identity, culture, language, and literature to the people of the world. He said the Bodos came to New Delhi for protest programmes to demand a solution to their demands, but this time the Bodos came to New Delhi with an aim to expose its rich culture and identity to the world community. He also said the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Bodoland Mahotsav drew the attention towards the emotional speech of Modi and the beautiful culture of the Bodos as the programme captured the spaces with positive headlines in various state and national dailies and goes to the world community. He also said that Bodoland could be a tourism hub as it has the potential for cultural tourism, adventure tourism, river rafting, handloom, etc., besides Manas National Park, Raimona National Park, Sikhnajhar National Park, and other wildlife sanctuaries. He also said the tourism in BTC had more opportunities as Bodoland is attached to Bhutan, where lakhs of tourists used to visit Bhutan, where three national parks of Bodoland are attached to the Bhutan border. He further said tourism and culture should be a tool for sustainable development of tourism in BTC. 

The open discussion was also addressed by the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, Biswajit Daimary, and attended by the MPs Joyanta Basumatary and Dilip Saikia and the president of the BSS, Dr. Surath Narzary. 

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