A citizen’s outlook to enhance river tourism in Assam

By: Bishaldeep Kakati & Bagmita Borthakur

Whenever one writes down a critical appreciation of enhancing a state’s economy, more often than not, a lot of factors are brought into discussion, including the most important aspect of tourism. Confabulating about tourism, the denizens most often than not have a mindset that tourism is limited to land tourism alone. But, with the passage of time, it has been noticed that, apart from land tourism, there is another vital aspect of tourism which can actually be of great benefit to a particular state, especially those that are blessed by river bodies, tributaries and distributaries. This brings into discussion, contemporary times most talked about topic of river tourism.

Popularly known as the Land of Red Rivers and Blue Hills, the state of Assam and its people has been blessed with a lot of tourism viability, both in terms of history, architecture and natural beauty. However, one particular factor that probably puts Assam, a tad ahead of other states in terms of tourism, is the benefit of the river Brahmaputra, also referred to as the Mighty Blue, that flows through most part of the state, including the capital city of Guwahati. Apart from Brahmaputra, the state of Assam has two other important rivers, known as the Kusiyara River and the Barak River, and a number of tributaries flow from these rivers. In fact, some of the other important rivers in Assam are, Bhoroli River,  Bhorolu river, Dhansiri River, Dihing river, Gabhoru river, Manas river, Subansiri River, Katakhal river, Jatinga river, Longai river, Mothura river, etc. However, the sad fact is that, even after being blessed with kilometres of river line, the state of Assam has not been able to set an example in terms of promoting river tourism and in a way, enhancing its economy and revenue generation via this mode of tourism.

The conspicuous fact is that Assam holds within itself, the world’s largest and smallest river island. Although, the world’s largest river island, Majuli, has been promoted to an extent with a good number of tourists visiting the place, but unfortunately, the world’s smallest inhabited river island, Umananda is yet to be promoted in the way it should have been. Considering the fact that both the tourist destinations are associated with river, we still do not find a proper and safe means of travelling to these spots via water transport. For instance, if a tourist visits the capital city of Guwahati and wants to visit Majuli from there, he has to travel to Jorhat first and then take a ferry service from Nimatighat to reach Majuli, which again is not safe, quite evident from the number of unfortunate incidents that have occurred over the years. So, in this regard, it is high time to come up with proper means of water transportation from Guwahati to Majuli without the need to visit Jorhat or any other place for that matter. Along with this, if a long journey via waterway can be arranged from Guwahati to Majuli, then the tourist can not only enjoy the beauty of Brahmaputra but can also be the spectators of many historical places that lie along the coast of Brahmaputra.  And in case of Umananda, it is at times very difficult for a tourist to first locate Uzanbazar Ghat or Kachomari Ghat and then take a ferry service to visit Umananda. So a proper, accessible and safe means of water transport to Umananda Ghat can further escalate the river tourism potential of Assam.

In order to strategically improve river tourism, it is important for the government of Assam to consider taking certain steps that can help in the process of marketing of rivers, which directly can boost tourism and generate revenue. In this regard, we have to bring into the ambit of discussion, the strategies developed by American rivers that have highlighted gateway communities. We also need to consider how in America the communities have been benefited greatly by local rivers and land conservation.

Across America, different communities have developed a strategy to convert cities and towns as host community for instituting new recreation destinations. Promoting gateway communities basically helps in the process of providing ample opportunities for both dwellers and visitors to not only enjoy rivers but also related river corridors such as national parks, monuments, recreation centres, etc. The gateway community system via its operation also bridges the communication gaps, in terms of identifying unexplored recreational centres and at the same time help the travel enthusiasts to enjoy the natural benefits from the river and the surrounding areas. In case of Assam, there is a place known as Bogamati, which gives a lot of river based recreational activities like rafting, boating, etc, but still not properly explored or known by the dwellers of Assam, maybe because of lack of proper communication between residents of urban and rural areas. The same holds true for Beki river as well, lying alongside the Manas National Park, which if properly explored, can be a river tourism hotspot. Therefore, the people of Assam and the government can definitely take examples from the steps taken by America in order to make river tourism in Assam prosper to new heights.

River eco tourism also has an important role to play while promoting river tourism. Hence, conservation of river eco tourism remains really important as Assam somewhere down the line has failed to take necessary steps in conserving river eco tourism. This can be understood from the fact that River Dolphins that were once quite visible in the Brahmaputra River have now become a rare sight.

River tourism can also be enhanced by the process of marketing of rivers. In this regard, the internet and social media can really be the game changers. Whereas in internet, websites can be created, to promote a particular destination by including necessary and relevant information, social media can be used to not only raise destination awareness, enhance exploration through the region but also attract high value travellers. Assam’s story of river tourism also holds within itself the rich tales of the Ahoms and the famous battle of Saraighat, which also need to be promoted in the right manner in order to enhance river tourism.

The government of Assam, no doubt in recent times has done its bit to promote river tourism by opening centres like the Brahmaputra Heritage Centre, Centre for Brahmaputra Studies, night ferry services, etc, but somewhere down the line it has still failed to come out with well researched and scientific means to promote river tourism. Therefore, invigorating and sustainable policies along with making people aware about river tourism and conserving river eco-system can definitely play a significant role in taking Assam’s river tourism to the next level, based on its immense potential.  (Bishaldeep Kakati is an Advocate, Gauhati High Court & Bagmita Borthakur is a student, Pondicherry Central University)