Individual hard work and perseverance against the odds has managed to bring boating activities to Lyngkien village, thereby lifting the tourism potential of the area.
Jokin Kurkalang, who owns a fish pond at the village, had earlier spent more than Rs 15 lakh of his own money to construct a 1km road that serves over 100 households in the village and nearby.
More recently, he bought 11 boats for his pond to promote tourism further and generate more employment opportunities. In this, Kurkalang received assistance from the Fisheries Department.
Superintendent of Fisheries in East Khasi Hills, H Papang, inaugurated the 11 boats in the presence of other officials from the department, executive members of the dorbar shnong Lyngkien and others.
Speaking to Highland Post, Papang said that the department had given Kurkalang assistance of Rs 5.1 lakh for construction and input under the Blue Revolution Scheme 2018-2019, while Rs 3.4 lakh was Kurkalang’s own contribution for the total project cost of Rs 8.5 lakh.
“Under this centrally sponsored scheme, our department gives 60 percent subsidy to the beneficiary while 40 percent is their own contribution,” Papang said, adding that the department is looking forward to giving more assistance to the fish farmers like Kurkalang that have a place with potential to develop other activities permitted under the guidelines of the scheme.
She said that fish farmers eligible to apply for the scheme should have land of not less than 0.05 hectares up to 2 hectares or who can lease such land for 10 years.
Papang lauded Kurkalang for all the effort he put into developing the spot, which was beyond the assistance given by the department, and stated that this will be an example for other fish farmers in the state.
Kurkalang in his speech vowed to develop the place even more and make it into one of the finest tourist spots in the area and state as a whole.
