GUWAHATI:
With an aim to promote adventure tourism in Meghalaya, the maiden Meghalaya National Paragliding Accuracy Championship 2022 got underway at Chotcholja village under Kharkutta constituency in North Garo Hills district, on April 29.
Inaugurating the event, Meghalaya cabinet minister James Sangma said that this is for the first time that paragliding competition is being held in Meghalaya, and the event will pave the way for promoting the state as an adventure tourism hub.
“We will try to showcase the natural beauty of this area through this event. Many people are coming from various states to take part in the championship here and it is good for the state of Meghalaya,” Sangma said.
National People’s Party (NPP) legislator from Kharkutta Rupert Momin flagged off the adventure competition by paragliding with co-pilot Bishal Chetry from Nepal.
Lauding the endeavour of the legislator in organising the championship, Sangma said, “Such an initiative will aid in boosting the tourism prospects of the region, which in turn will benefit the local community immensely.”
As many as 100 participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram and Assam are taking part in the four-day championship, which will conclude on May 2. Besides the paragliders from different states, the personnel from the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles too are competing in the championship for the title.
Momin said that thousands of people have gathered to see the paragliders on the first day, and expressed happiness about the first-of-its-kind initiative from the government.
“I am very excited. Today is a special day for us. I am thankful to the Meghalaya government for extending financial assistance to organise this event. We are thankful to the tourism department as well,” Momin said.
Momin further added, “Our main objective is to boost tourist attraction. We are also exploring employment opportunities for local youths through adventure sports, in addition to educational and economic opportunities,” Momin added.
Stating his excitement, Chetry, a paraglider from Nepal said, “I have flown many times and this is a good place to paraglide. I am performing well in the competition, and will urge others to come and experience paragliding here.