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Manipur govt looks to lift Protected Area Permit

Joy Roy Choudhury - Kolkata

In a bid to attract foreign tourists to the state, the government of Manipur is negotiating with the Centre to lift the Protected Area Permit (PAP) requirement. The state is currently under the protected area regime under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958 and any foreign national entering the state needs a permit issued by the Central government or any officer authorised by the Central government.

According to D S Poonia, additional chief secretary (Department of Tourism), Government of Manipur, this has restricted unhindered flow of foreign tourists. "Foreign nationals visiting Manipur are required to travel by air from Delhi/Kolkata/Guwahati to Imphal. They can also enter the state by road on NH-39 and NH-53. The circuit to be followed is Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar," he said. Tourist arrivals, both domestic and foreign, into the state have also been affected by sporadic militant activities. Poonia said the state government is also putting emphasis on developing road links within the state. He said its eastern gateway Moreh being the transit of foreign trade, will soon emerge as an important business sector for South East Asia.

Poonia added that the state government will put extra effort to upgrade transit sector in the state and with the coming of railways it will also increase connectivity with other parts of countries. The Rs 727-crore Jiribam-Toupul Railway Project coming up in the state is Manipur's first railway project, which will link this north-eastern state with the rest of the country. Northeast Frontier Railways (NEFR) is implementing the project.