Monday, January 2, 2023
Montang, a place in Tripura’s Khowai district, has suddenly turned into a bustling tourist spot and emerged as a new destination for travellers and nature lovers. Perched on the Atharamura hill range, tourists are flocking to the place to see floating clouds from proximity.
Known as the ‘Mountain of Peace’ among people of the local Tripuri community, the site is about 80 km from state capital Agartala and came to the limelight after documentary filmmaker-turned-politician, Kamal Kalai made a ‘tong ghar’, a thatched bamboo hut anchored on planks made of bamboo and timber, for spending time there.
Tourist operator, Supriya Deb, who is also a member of Tripura Tourism Development Forum (TTDF) said it was estimated that at least 500 tourists visit the place every day even as the infrastructure is very poor.
“What I have seen is that there are only 7-8 shops here selling indigenous tribal food and handicraft items and also a makeshift restaurant where biryani is sold and one tong ghar, where the owner Mr Kalai stays at times,” Deb told PTI.
Kalai is now an executive member of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) after winning the elections in April last year. After becoming the executive member of the tribal council, he was successful in getting funds from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to build a connecting road from National Highway 8 to Montang, as this place falls under his constituency, and built a ‘tong ghar’ there.
“My dream is to turn the place into a full-fledged tourist spot. The TTAADC does not have enough money to spend there. So I want the state tourism department to pay attention to develop the place. Law and order is being looked into as people have started making a mad rush to see the place”, Kalai said. He also has plans to turn a portion of the place into an organic farm and also encourage floriculture to make it a ‘village of flowers’.
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