North East focused for Indian Tourism

Gangtok, Sikkim: Tourism will be one of the main thrust areas of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in the 11th Plan.

Union minister for development of the north eastern region (Doner) Mani Shankar Aiyar announced this here yesterday at the end of a sectoral meet of the council on hospitality and tourism.

Delegates at the meet adopted the Gangtok Declaration, which says the north eastern states must take full advantage of central schemes and the council’s funds for the development and promotion of tourism in the region.

Aiyar said the biggest inhibiting factor for tourists was the perception that the region is ridden with insurgency, militancy and terrorism, which is so much at variance with the ground reality. He added that a publicity campaign would be carried out soon to convey the message that tourists are safe everywhere in this country.

Poor connectivity was another factor impeding the growth of tourism in the north eastern states, the minister said. A concerted effort will also be made to rapidly improve all kinds of connectivity within the region, he added. In the next five years, the government will invest Rs 50,000 crore on the construction of roads and highways in the Northeast.

The network would be augmented by National Waterway II on the Brahmaputra, which will connect Sadiya to Dhubri and will open shortly. Aiyar said the Barak river will be declared National Waterway VI while a route on the Kolodyne from Mizoram to Sittwe in Myanmar is also being developed.

As far as air services to the region are concerned, the target is 600 flights a week by the end of the 11th Plan. Currently, the figure stands at 226 flights per week, flying in and out of 11 operational airports. At the meet, Doner secretary Sushma Singh had said three greenfield airports are coming up in Gangtok, Itanagar and Kohima. Doner has also sanctioned funds for detailed project reports on the upgrade of five non-operational airports in the Northeast and construction of new airports at Tawang and Kokrajhar.

Source: The Telegraph