Not likely to hamper tourism, says village tourism body
Mokokchung, 13 September (MTNews): In an unfortunate incident, a tourist cottage in Longrangtenem Park of Mopungchuket village under Mokokchung district was completely razed down on the night of 12 September 2023.
The Mopungchuket Community Tourism Society (MCTS) in a report submitted to the Director of Tourism, Nagaland said that the cause of the fire is deemed to have been caused by a lightning strike that happened around 11:00 PM on 12 September. The razed debris was discovered only in the morning of 13 September.
Longrangtenem Park is one of the two community-owned parks in Mopungchuket Village and the destroyed cottage was one of the four tourist cottages in the gated park. “The unforeseen natural calamity happened when the villagers were gearing up for the approaching tourist season, which peaks around October to December,” MCTS said in its report.
Mopungchuket is a major rural tourism destination in Mokokchung, Nagaland. Longrangtenem Park is a historical site in the village and a Multi-Utility Tourism Building was inaugurated there by Keduosieu Metha, Director of Tourism Department, Nagaland recently on 2 August.
The MCTS further stated in its report to the Director of Tourism that it has taken stock of the situation. “Tourism in the village is not likely to be hampered by the unfortunate natural calamity that happened on the night of 12 September,” MCTS added.
Meanwhile, MCTS disclosed to this newspaper that they were planning to refurbish the cottages and added that it was “fortunate” that the natural calamity happened before the renovation.
Further, MCTS also divulged that they have a long list of tourism projects coming up in the village, including organizing a festival in the last week of November and identifying some “interesting sites for outdoor enthusiasts.”