Shillong, Apr 16: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said that the state government has asked authorities to give medical attention to the chairman of Green-Tech Foundation (GTF), H Bansiewdor Nonglang, who is on an indefinite hunger strike over the planned Lumpongdeng Island tourist resort.
GTF has been at the forefront of the protest regarding Lumpongdeng, which has been included in a mega resort development awarded to the company that owns the Taj group of hotels. Nonglang has been on a hunger strike since last week to pressure the government to give up the planned development of the island on Umiam Lake.
Today the CM informed that even after repeated requests Nonglang refused to leave the protest site in Malki and get medical help.
According to Sangma, there is no need to protest as the state government has reassured the public that no permanent structures will be set up on Lumpongdeng Island as the resort will be built on the existing Orchid Lake Resort, which lies on the shore of the lake. He added that the state had already taken note of Lumpongdeng’s importance to the local ecology and had therefore decided to maintain its environment. GTF, however, has not been swayed by this reassurance.
The Chief Minister said that the developers of the five-star resort are bringing in an investment of Rs 300 crore for the state. This is one of 10 five-star properties in the pipeline around the state but Sangma said his government is also aiming to support the creation of 3,000 more homestays by local entrepreneurs.
