Moves Afoot To Put Northeast On Tourist Map

By Ashlin Mathew

Home is where the heart is and the heart is where is the money is. And right now the money is in the North- East.

Well, maybe not right now but soon enough, now that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), North Eastern Council (NEC) and the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (DONEAR) are acting in concert to develop tourism in the region.

At a workshop this past Tuesday, experts pitched tourism as a transformational industry for the social and economic development of the north-eastern region.

View of Nightlife Cafe at midnight in Shillong, Meghalaya, India

A master plan prepared by TCS in consultation with the NEC pegged the state investment required by the region's travel and tourism sector over the next 10 years at Rs 3,959.35 crore, with the private sector chipping in with Rs 2,515.15 crore.

And the reason for this drive was the north-east's dismal tourism statistics. The region accounts for 7.9 per cent of India's land area, yet only 0.9 per cent of domestic and 0.8 per cent of international tourists visit it.

The only silver lining is the 11.84 per cent growth in the number of tourists to the region between 2005 and 2010, but most of them head to Assam, Meghalaya and Sikkim.

'When most of the other states hopped onto the Incredible India bandwagon, none of the north-eastern states did so,' NEC Secretary U.K. Sangma said at the workshop.

He said tour operators are extremely important to sell campaigns, so the NEC is studying proposals to educate them about the differences between the eight states that constitute the north-east.

To increase footfalls, better connectivity and infrastructure is the key. 'The East- West corridor will be completed next year and connectivity is getting better,' Chandan Brahma, Assam's minister for tourism and transport, pointed out.

'Water taxis and catamarans are being used for conveyance as well. In addition to improvements in transportation, a lot of PPP projects are being implemented.' Brahma informed the gathering that a luxury cruise on the Brahmaputra had already taken off.

Tourists riding on elephants watch Indian rhinoceros at the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, some 55 kilometers (31 miles) east of Gauhati, India

The state government is also looking at the possibility of developing golf courses and getting ready to hosting an International tourism carnival in January.

The TCS report makes a case for looking beyond Kaziranga and Guwahati. 'Mechuka and Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh can be promoted as nature tourism spots,' Priya Varghese, Project Consultant, TCS, said.

'Majuli in Assam has potential for eco-tourism, Loktak Lake in Manipur is famous for its biodiversity and Kangla in the same state is a fortress city,' she added.

Her study also calls for the bundling of Dhaka, Agartala and Shillong as a three-in-one regional destination.

The sentiment at the workshop was clearly in favour of sustainable tourism that takes into account the sentiments of the local communities. 'People in the region must not feel like living artefacts,' Varghese said.

Amplifying her sentiments, Assam's Principal Secretary (Tourism) H.S. Das reminded the gathering that there were a number of ethnic groups in the region and they needed to be handled carefully.

He also made a plea for ecotourism. 'Tourism can become a community mobiliser, but to achieve that end, the biodiversity of the region must not be harmed by the principal players.

Only if these are sustained will the long-term interests of tourism be served,' Das added.

Though there continues to be some ambiguity on many of these recommendations, it is only a matter of time before the region gets its due on the tourism map. Head there to be the first one to share the brewing big story.

Students From Northeast Get Inducted Into Delhi University

New Delhi, Sep 27 : The office of the dean of students' welfare held an orientation for students from the northeastern states.

The program, which introduced new inductees to Delhi University's systems, also included a cultural event and a lunch comprising delicacies from the northeastern states.

The programme was rather well-attended and according to Pv.mevei Paokhomai, a third-year student and one of the organizers, by evening, over 1,330 students had stopped by. That's also when most of the action happened.

There were cultural programmes by students from the eight northeastern states including a Cheraw bamboo dance by a Mizo troupe, Bihu by the Assamese and a Naga-Angamese folk song ( as the welcome song) by the girls from Nagaland studying in Jesus and Mary College.

"The students from JMC have been practicing the bamboo dance for 20—25 days. We have been working with a very tight schedule. None of us had much time," says Paokhomai. There was a solo number by Awmpuii Khawlhring of Kamala Nehru College.

While neither the vice chancellor nor the joint commissioner of police, Robin Hibu, could make it to the morning sessions, the dean of students' welfare, J M Khurana, told the students that over 10,000 students study in different colleges under the university.

He seemed most concerned about their stay. "I hope you have found appropriate places to stay, preferably in places where friends have stayed before," he said adding that from this year a special hostel for about 350 girls from the northeastern states has been started. And, much like issuing a travel advisory, he asked them "to avoid street food as far as possible."

Khurana encouraged the students to take attendance and internal assessment seriously and told them about the LCD projectors DU has distributed among colleges.

Harley Davidson Targets The Northeast India Market

Says it has delivered over 20 units to buyers, hopeful of double-digit growth from the area

Guwahati Sep 27 : US-based cult bike maker Harley-Davidson is looking at North Eastern states as a major market in coming years and expects double-digit sales growth from the region.

"The biking culture is very strong in the North East and this gives us a strong pull to the region. We have already delivered over 20 units to buyers in the region," Harley- Davidson India Managing Director Anoop Prakash told PTI.

"We are looking for a steady growth in our business and we are hopeful of double-digit growth in the coming years in the North Eastern market. We are very positive about the market in Assam and other states."

Prakash said the company is optimistic of good response to its FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic and Fat Boy models in the North East.

Harley-Davidson, which started Indian operations in 2009, has 15 models available in the range of Rs 5.65 lakh to Rs 35.45 lakh, and is targeting Tier II cities in a big way.

It has ramped up its marketing and advertising in the region.

Its annual musical event -- Harley Rock Riders -- is being held in Guwahati from today.

"The Harley-Davidson culture is as much about its unique style as the motorcycles themselves and music forms an integral part of it," Prakash said, adding that bands like Pentagram, Digital Suicide and Bhayanak Maut will be performing.

"We are also holding boot camps to allow bikers to have test rides and experience our models," he said.

Asked about opening a dealership in North East, Prakash said, "We have just opened a dealership in Kolkata and the response has been good. We do not have any plans right now in North East. We are looking at achieving a critical mass in number of sales. Maybe by 2014, we may think of having a dealership in North East."

Meghalaya Govt Directs Cyber Cafes To Install CCTV

Shillong, Sep 26 : Meghalaya government today directed all cyber cafes to install CCTV cameras in their shops besides taking clients IDs and details in a bit to tackle cyber crimes emanating from these cafes, officials said. In an official notification of the Meghalaya Cyber Cafe Rules 2012, all cyber cafes
are directed to install cameras besides taking all details of their clients including ID cards, officials said.

"Today we will notify the Cyber Cafe Rules 2012 under the Meghalaya Information Technology Act," state Information Technology Commissioner and Secretary D P Wahlang said, while inaugurating a seminar – Cyber World and its challenges – organized by Lady Keane College here.

He said the cyber rules are specifically meant to tackle cyber crimes emanating from the cyber cafes operating in the state and preventing them for propagating ideologies which are not in consonant with the state.

According to the IT Commissioner, the rules have been framed as such to give access to the police the details of anyone using the cyber cafes at any given time.

Northeast Can Be New Tourist Haven

New Delhi, Sep 26 : India needs new tourist destinations and the northeast region has the potential to fulfill the role if its tourism infrastructure improves, Assam Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma said here Tuesday.

Brahma told IANS at a workshop on "Making North East Tourism Ready" that the northeast has rich ethnic diversity, cultural heritage, wildlife and natural beauty and has potential to emerge as a favourite of tourists.

"India needs new tourist destinations. Tourists are looking forward to this," Brahma said.

He said Assam alone has 20 wildlife sanctuaries and seven national parks.

Brahma said the central government should give more funds for creating tourism infrastructure in the region, which needs more hotels and tourism resorts.

Earlier, speaking at the workshop, Brahma said that the Assam government was coming up with a tourism policy and initiatives such as river taxis and a luxury cruises on the Brahmaputra river. He said Assam International Tourism Carnival will be held in January next year at Guwahati and more than 20 countries were expected to take part.

Priya M. Varghese of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said the northeast accounts for 7.9 percent of the country's geographical area but attracts only 0.9 percent of domestic tourists and 0.3 percent of international tourists.

She said there was a need for unified tourism policy for the region, a unified tourism portal and an e-commerce portal.

Varghese said the proposed state investment for prioritised development of tourism circuits in the eight states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura - has been estimated at Rs.3,959 crore over 10 years.

A.S. Lamba, secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, said tourism in the northeast had not realised its potential due to infrastructure bottlenecks and poor marketing.

He said the master plan could be executed over the next 10 years depending on availability of funds, and nine tourist circuits were expected to be taken in first phase of its implementation.

U.K. Sangma, secretary, North East Council, said the TCS study had identified tourist circuits which should be developed. He said tour operators had a significant role to play in projection of tourism spots.

N.K. Bharali, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) northeast council, said: "The transport and hotel industry itself generates construction activity and generates demand for a wide variety of goods and services with significant linkages to agriculture, horticulture and handicrafts."

Subash Goyal, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators, dwelled on the significance of "marketing" for boosting tourism in the northeast.

"There is need to improve accessibility, infrastructure and marketing. Inter-regional connectivity should be better," he said.

The workshop was organised by the CII, in partnership with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, North East Council and Association of Tour Operators of North East India.

Only Indian Citizens for Voter List: YMA

Aizawl, Sep 25 : The Young Mizo Association, a community-based organisation, has demanded that only Indian citizens be included in the electoral rolls of the state.

Following a meeting yesterday, the central body of the organisation has instructed all its branchesin the state to be actively involved in all the hearings during the summary revision of the electoral rolls, which will begin soon.

The leaders of the organisation today said they were ready to go to any lengths to prevent the demographic nightmare that is plaguing the neighbouring states — Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya.

The leaders of the organisation feel that a large number of foreigners living in the state have been enrolled under the protection of state politicians, who are looking for vote banks. The general secretary of the organisation, Vanlalruata, said the organisation would take steps to prevent inclusion of foreigners in the ongoing summary revision of the voter list.

“We instructed the branches to make objections if they suspect that a foreigner is being enrolled or if they find names of suspected foreigners in the lists,” Vanlalruata said.

Mizoram has several villages which have been set up by foreigners and peopled by them. These villages of illegal migrants have sprung up under the eye of the state authorities in the border areas and also in the suburbs of the capital, sources said.

Such villages were given village councils and the leadership of the village councils. Some of the branches of the organisation were taken over by the migrants resulting in the large scale enrollment of foreigners in the voter list.

Mizoram shares a 404km porous border with Myanmar and a 318km border with Bangladesh.

Northeast Girls, Here’s Someone To Talk To

Guwahati, Sep 25 : The North East Girl Students’ Association today launched a counselling centre for women.

The centre aims to guide girl students in their career-related issues and give suggestions to tackle their personal problems.

Rekibuddin Ahmed, parliamentary secretary of the education department, today formally launched the centre in the association’s head office at Chenikuthi and also inaugurated its official website.

The association formally came into existence on January 28, 1998, at the first North East Girl Students’ Conference held at Handique Girls College.

The formation of the association saw the emergence of a girl students’ force, which was determined to fight against secessionist and anti-national activities and worked wholeheartedly for the restoration of peace and harmony in the region.

Since its formation, the members of the association have carried out its mission relentlessly to create awareness among public about the various evils of society and mobilise the association to build up a healthy and violence-free society.

Any girl above the age of 14 years is eligible to become a member and the membership forms are available on the association’s website.

“We have observed that many students do not have much idea about pursuing the career they want. Many girls face personal problems, which they cannot share with their family members and friends, but look for suggestions to tackle them. We have set up the counselling centre to help them. We will keep experts to counsel the girls. They can call up for assistance at 9435143235 or visit our office personally,” Munmi Dutta, president of the association, said.

She said the state was in need of a similar counselling centre for long. “There are instances of girls committing suicide, as they are unable to get a solution for their personal problems.” said.

Ahmed said the state education department would try their best to help the association in continuing the counselling centre. “Various departments of the education department will help the centre. Besides, we will also offer financial assistance.”

He conveyed his best wishes to the association, and was hopeful that they would cover the entire Northeast and more girl students would join the organisation.

Talking to the reporters, Ahmed said, “Chief minister Tarun Gogoi is also thinking of granting a plot of land to the association to enable it to continue with its activities smoothly.”

Earlier, the association had submitted a memorandum to Gogoi urging him to grand a plot of land to set up its permanent office. At present, the organisation is being run from a rented house.

Assam Floods Displace Nearly 1.5 Milion People

By Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Sep 25 : Floods have forced nearly 1.5 million people to flee their homes in northeastern India where authorities have declared a health alert, officials said on Monday.

"Eighteen of 27 districts of Assam have been hit by floods with 1.4 million displaced and 11 people drowned in separated incidents in the past week," the Disaster Management agency said in a statement.

The floods, caused by relentless rains, marked the second round of massive flooding in two months to hit India's impoverished northeast and come towards the end of India's June-to-September monsoon season.

Nearly 130 people died and six million were displaced by floods in Assam state in July.

Rescue officials said in the latest floods, at least 2,200 villages had been swamped by overflowing waters from the rain-swollen Brahmaputra River.

Himanta Biswa Sarmah, the health minister of Assam state, told AFP that a "maximum health alert" to avert outbreaks of diarrhea or diseases such as typhoid had been declared in the devastated zone.

The annual monsoon provides vital irrigation for India's farmers but also claims many casualties from flooding and landslides.

Officials said flooding victims had been evacuated to temporary shelters on higher ground.

"We've dispatched doctors and paramedics to ensure there is no outbreak of disease," Sarmah said in Guwahati, Assam's largest city.

Victims and an opposition party staged protests in flood-hit areas against what they said were shortages of emergency supplies in the Congress-ruled state.

"The government has failed to provide adequate relief supplies including food and medicines," said Sarbananda Sonowal, a local leader of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. "In many parts of the state people are even living without food," he added.

Rehab India Foundation, a voluntary group said heavy rains disrupted its plans to supply food and other essential items to flood-hit people.

Almost the entire 420 square kilometres (162 square miles) of Kaziranga National Park was also flooded, the Press Trust of India reported.

The wildlife park is home to the world's single largest population of one-horned rhinos. A 2012 census in Kaziranga counted 2,290 of the rhinos, out of a global population of 3,300.

The species declined to near extinction in the early 1990s and is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Kaziranga has fought a sustained battle against rhino poachers, who kill the animals for their horns that fetch huge prices in some Asian countries where they are deemed to be an aphrodisiac.

In neighbouring Pakistan, flash floods triggered by record rains have affected around 700,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of crops in the south-west of the country, officials said.

At least 51 people have died across the impoverished province of Baluchistan and Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf on Sunday declared three districts as calamity-hit areas.