Santosh K. Kiro
McCluskieganj: Jharkhand villages located in dense forests of Ranchi-Latehar border region, seem to have shed their decades’ tag of Naxal-infected and slowly lurching back to aspirations for good life.
The new generation of educated youths, even from among the tribes, no longer seem to believe in the direction-less Ultra-Left ideology; and they now want employment and wealth. Six friends—all graduates—of Dhoti village in Latehar district, some 12 kms south of famous tourist place McCluskieganj bear testimony to this. Instead of waiting for jobs to fall on their laps, they have set up a fish farm on a 20-acres plot in the midst of forests, and are now converting the farm into a resort to attract adventure tourism.
“The area is safe now. Tourists can move even in the evening. We youths want employment. We have seen poverty and we no longer want to continue living in it,” says Santosh Bhagat, the team leader of the group that now has a tourism start-up. Other members of the Dhoti youths’ team include Dayaman Bhagat, Anil Oraon, Shankar Munda, Sohan Ram and Manoj Yadav. All of them are graduates from different colleges of Ranchi University.
The group has already eleven fish ponds wherein it grows rehu, katla, mrigal and other local varieties. Catch from the ponds are now sold in McCluskieganj and other local markets. But the plan is to attract adventurous tourists to this Dhoti Resort and serve them with sumptuous dinners with fresh fish curry.
“We will soon offer tourists the facility of angling as well as boating in our ponds,” says Dayaman.
McCluskieganj in Ranchi district, once inhabited by lively Anglo-Indian community, is known for its scenic beauty. The place offers a good number of guest houses. However, in recent days, a large number of brick kilns have come up around this once-sought-after hot tourist destination. Tourists do not get to spend quality time in activities other than visiting the small town.
Dhoti offers additional quality hours—hills for mountaineering, gorgeous Falls and a dusky Chhatti river—a tributary of River Damodar.
“Tourists can enjoy comfortable night-stay in guest houses of McCluskieganj and early morning move to Dhoti for day’s adventure; spend the whole day with various activities there,” says Manas Mukherjee, a tourism promoter.
Some Bengali tourists from Ranchi and Kolkata had their adventure tourism in Dhoti a few days ago. “The place is lovely.
I will come back here with more friends,” says Parobita Basu, a tourist from Kolkata.
