Our Correspondent
Lütsam | March 4
If everything goes well, the tourist destination Shilloi Lake will become international cultural hub one day.
Minister for School Education & SCERT Yitachu said the government will construct permanent structure in the newly developed ground at Shilloi Lake with an aim to convert it into an international cultural hub as once the ongoing road connection between Nagaland and Myanmar opens the route, it will become the gateway to Southeast Asian countries.
He said site levelling and other necessity will be initiated soon.
Shilloi Lake in Meluri sub division of Phek district and bordering Myanmar lies 280 km away state capital Kohima.
Though much has been achieved during the last 13 years of NPF government and as an elected representative of the area himself, Yitachu said now the biggest concern to be achieved is the road connectivity with Myanmar.
Once it is connected, it will help promote trade and commerce, culture and tourism with other Southeast Asian countries. It will also promote technological exchanges with Myanmar, he hoped.
Addressing the 5th cultural festival of Phokhungri Area Cultural Society (PACS) here on March 3, he called upon the Naga people to focus on developing the potentials of their own areas and share with other Naga brethren so as to achieve the general aspiration of unity with the Naga family.
He challenged the people of the area to develop the potentials that they possess and share with other Nagas, which should be reciprocated by others too and it will finally result in unity of Nagas in general.
“Unless we do so the much aspired unity within the Nagas cannot be achieved,” he said.
He said that the Pochury area is endowed with potentials of power generation and encouraged converting the area into an industrially progressive zone. In this, he called upon the people of Meluri sub-division to extend support and cooperation to the Government in generation of Hydro Electric Projects, which can meet the power requirement of the State.
It will not only help revenue generation leading to economic uplift of the area bordering Myanmar but can also get back agriculture products from other potential areas, Yitachu said.
Expressing concern that the people of the area have resolved not to sell their land to outsiders, he said, even if land is available, without investors coming from outside no proper development can take shape with the available resources of the local people.
He, therefore, said that people should be willing to give land so that investors can wilfully come and invest for industrialization and other developmental activities, including rural tourism.
He also challenged the villagers by asking “whether it would be better to remain landlocked or share our potentials with others and be progressive.”
