Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow, Of crystal, wandering water, Thou art an emblem of the glow - Of beauty - Edgar Allen Poe

Nagaon, March 26: The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council has undertaken a model rural tourism project with the Kapili river at its base at Tumpreng in West Karbi Anglong district.

The innovative project is a joint effort of the forest, fisheries and tourism departments and after completion of the work, the council will manage it with the cooperation of local youths and organisations.

Tranquil Tumpreng, with the Kapili flowing through, is located 20km from Hojai town, and mainly dependent on agriculture.

The project includes a 4-hectare flower garden in memory of social worker Singh Ranghang, a children's park, a medicinal plant garden, swimming pool, an auditorium-cum-conference hall, provision for boating and other watersport along the Kapili and accommodation, including accommodation for tourists.

The council has completed work on the garden, swimming pool, a forest inspection bungalow and infrastructure for watersport. Work on the auditorium and tourist accommodation will be completed soon. "Our plan is to make the hill district popular through rural tourism. Tumpreng is a small place but this project will add to its development," said Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council chief executive member Tuliram Ranghang.

He said the council will soon release funds for the remaining work and stress will be laid on timely completion of the project. The council plans to finish the work in this financial year.

"The project will give our youths the opportunity to practise watersport. If needed, we can hire a coach to train those who aspire to make watersport a career," Ranghang said.

A forest department source said the flower garden and other completed attractions have been opened for visitors and was getting a good response.

"There are as many as 220 different varieties of flowers, including rare species found only in hilly regions. The proposed medicinal plant garden will be set up in an adjoining plot so that a visitor looking over the flower garden can see the medicinal plants," said Hamren district forest officer Jatin Sarma.

The hilly parts of interior Hamren have recently become a tourist attraction as the law-and-order situation has improved. Major picnic spots and tourist sites in West Karbi Anglong include Kuka, Baithalangsu, Kheroni and Tumpreng.

"Bad roads and difficult terrain make visitors hesitate to come to the district headquarters Hamren. If the state government is really interested in promoting tourism, it must improve rural communication," said Tumpreng resident Bidya Singh Tokbi.

He said watersport, under the supervision of a trained coach, could give an opportunity to the youths to build a career.

"The state government took the initiative to introduce watersport in Morigaon district long back but that remained incomplete. We hope the council will seriously execute the infrastructure development work," he said.