Guwahati, Jan. 29: The residents of 35 revenue villages in Kamrup district have joined hands with Eri Fed, an NGO, to develop the area near the confluence of three rivers at Ukiam into a tourist destination after the locale drew a sizeable number of visitors to a festival held there for the first time.

"The Drone-Sree-Dilma river festival in December turned out to be a huge success with hundreds of visitors from faraway places thronging the venue. Many picnickers came to the area every day since last month. Now, at our initiative, the villagers have decided to turn the area into a tourist spot and earn a living," Chandan Keshab, the secretary of Eri Fed, said.

Each of the 35 villages has over 1,000 residents. The majority of the families, which belong to the Garo community, live below the poverty line.

"The villagers have realised that they should unite and do things together for their own good. A series of festivals to celebrate nature has been lined up for the year to attract more visitors. In December, the villagers of Larubama, known for its orange plantations, will host the Orange Festival to promote the fruit, the production of which has gone down substantially in the past few years," Keshab said.

Ukiam is about 70km south of Guwahati. Given the flow of tourists to the area of late, some villagers have taken to plying boats on the rivers. "They earn not less than Rs 2,000 a day," he said.

From next year onwards, the NGO will put in place some curbs for the picnickers. "This season, several stretches were left littered by the picnickers. We will also engage villagers to sell traditional food packed in eco-friendly material," Keshab said.

As part of a long-term plan, the NGO has identified at least eight venues between Ukiam and Lampi to be turned into tourist hotspots. There are about 40 revenue villages along the stretch.

"Here the villagers can set up eco parks and arrange homestays, among other things to empower themselves economically. We will soon start giving them the required training," he said.

Villagers belonging to the Khasi community on the other side of the river bank have also shown interest in the project.

Eri Fed has set in place a production chain to create a viable export market for eri and muga in future. Recently, it opened its second outlet in Assam to promote its brand, Eriya.

The NGO is also setting up an eri park on a 54-bigha plot at Maothal, a village along the inter-state border.