Tag: NorthEast India

Tourists flock to Northeast India, another destination sees rise in footfalls

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Another destination in Northeast India witnessed a rise in tourist arrivals in 2023. The Mizoram State Tourism Department reported a robust influx of tourists last year, with over 196,000 visitors, including domestic and foreign travellers.

Among the total tourist count, 1,93,445 were domestic tourists, while 3,435 were foreigners, with Americans comprising the largest group. Visitors from countries like Japan, Australia, Israel, Canada, and the United Kingdom also explored Mizoram’s attractions. Northeast India is becoming a hub for tourists, with Sikkim witnessing record number of tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2024.

The year 2022-23 witnessed a notable increase in tourist footfalls compared to the previous years, despite minimal activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, the state welcomed 1.32 lakh. Mizoram attracts travellers for its breathtaking landscapes, encompassing rolling hills, tranquil valleys, and majestic waterfalls, along with rich flora and fauna.

Also read: Not just Lakshadweep, Indians need a special permit to visit these places in India

Popular tourist destinations in Mizoram include Reiek Tlang, Vantawng Falls, Phawngpui peak, Hmuifang Tlang, Dampa Wildlife Sanctuary, Murlen National Park, and Tamdil Lake, which showcase the state’s natural and cultural diversity. In August 202, tourism Mizoram embraced a ‘responsible’ tourism policy that focuses on sustainable development, community empowerment, and environmental conservation.

The policy aims to make tourism the backbone for local development, poverty alleviation and generating livelihood. Additionally, recent regulatory changes have simplified travel procedures for foreigners, with the suspension of the Protected Area Permit requirement for most visitors. However, foreign tourists are still required to register at the Foreigner Registration Office in Aizawl within 24 hours of arrival, ensuring compliance with legal formalities and enhancing overall tourism experience in Mizoram.

(With inputs from PTI)

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This destination in Northeast India has witnessed record-breaking tourist arrivals in 2024 so far

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Parts of Northeast India have been embroiled in violence for a while now, with the situation escalating in May 2023 following ethnic violence in the state of Manipur. Despite instability in the scenic region, the state of Sikkim has witnessed record footfalls, thanks to the culture, weather and scenic locales of the hilly areas. In the first quarter of 2024, Sikkim experienced an unprecedented surge in tourist arrivals, according to official data from the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department.

Until March 31, 2024, Sikkim welcomed a staggering 2,90,401 tourists, including 2,56,537 domestic visitors and 30,864 foreigners. This surge in arrivals has been attributed to the recovery made in Sikkim’s hospitality sector, which suffered greatly due to the devastating flash floods in October 2023.

The calamity claimed dozens of 40 lives, leading to a significant decline in tourist arrivals. However, early trends emerging in 2024 suggest that Sikkim would regain its status as a premier tourist destination, reports suggest.

Also read: 12 destinations you must visit in Northeast India for a cool summer vacation

However, the economic impact of tourism on the state is significant, with the industry estimated to have generated over Rs 500 crore in revenue prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sikkim Tourism Department website. As tourist numbers continue to rise, this figure is expected to witness a sizeable increase, providing a much-needed boost to the local economy.

There are 1,725 travel agencies catering to tourists looking to visit the state, with a total of 38,208 beds to accommodate the influx of travellers.

Also read: Planning a monsoon holiday in Kullu, Kedarnath, Sikkim or Mumbai? Read this first

According to Tourism Sikkim data, ther has been a consistent upward trend in tourist arrivals over the past decade. Starting from 576,749 visitors in 2013, the numbers surged to a peak of 1,625,573 in 2023. With a promising start in 2024, projections indicate a potential milestone of 1.2 million tourists by year-end if the current growth rate persists.

(With inputs from agencies)

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India opens Northeast states for foreign tourists by easing restricted area permits

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Restricted Area Permits (RAP) and Protected Area Permits (PAP), needed by foreign tourists to travel across three border states in North East India, have been considerably eased with very few rejections, Union Ministry of Tourism’s Regional Director in North East said. Earlier, RAP or PAP was very difficult to get for foreigners, but to promote North East as a tourist destination, the restrictions have been eased.

Foreigners need RAP or PAP to visit certain parts of North East India, particularly border states like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. “Now any foreign traveller can visit these states through organised tours, which are handled by local tour operators based in these particular states,” Union Ministry of Tourism’s Regional Director in North East Anil Oraw told PTI.

Local tour operators will handle all necessary arrangements, and the rejection rate for foreign tourists in these states is minimal. However, Oraw mentioned that travellers must apply for the permits in advance. The Indian government is looking to open up tourism in more border areas in the coming years, particularly near China and Myanmar borders.

The move is aimed at providing more employment opportunities to residents of these regions. Various vibrant villages, each with unique features, are being recognised, such as the Kibithu village in Arunachal Pradesh, which is believed to be the place where the first rays of the day’s sun touches Indian soil.

Also read: Vietnamese airlines should start flights to northeastern states, says Indian minister

Oraw highlighted the potential for collaboration between Vietnam and India in the tourism sector. Although there is currently a low influx of tourists from Vietnam to India, there is a significant outflow of Indian tourists to Vietnam.

He emphasised the need to bridge this gap and encouraged tour operators from Vietnam to explore opportunities in India, particularly in the North East, which has gained popularity among domestic tourists. The North East region offers immense potential for “green tourism”, and in 2021, witnessed record-breaking domestic tourism, with 1.3 crore visitors from other parts of India attracted by its open, clean, hospitable environment, abundant natural beauty, and a range of accommodation options.

Also read: PM Modi flags off Northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express

(With inputs from agencies)

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PM Modi’s scheme for development in the Northeast receives outlay of Rs 6,600 crore for 2023-2026

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) Meeting, chaired by the Union Finance Secretary, appraised and recommended the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 6,600 crore for the 4-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 (remaining years of 15th Finance Commission period).

The new Scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region (NER). 

According to a release from the Press Information Bureau, the objectives of PM-DevINE are to:

• • Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM GatiShakti
  • Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER
  • Enable livelihood activities for youth and women
  • Fill the development gaps in various sectors

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While some of the projects to be approved for 2022-23 under PMDevINE are part of the Budget announcement, projects with substantial socio-economic impact or sustainable livelihood opportunities for the general public may be considered in the future, the release added.  

PMDevINE will reportedly lead to the creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.

There are other Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) Schemes for the development of the North Eastern Region. The average size of projects under other MDoNER Schemes is about Rs 12 crore only. PMDevINE is said to provide support to infrastructure and social development projects which may be larger in size and will also provide an end-to-end development solution instead of isolated projects.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt plans to transport PDS foodgrain to northeast India via waterways

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Anurag Jain has told CNBC-TV18 that the Union Ministry for Shipping and Waterways and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are planning to transport foodgrain via the public distribution system (PDS) to northeast India via waterways.

Describing the National Logistics Policy as yet another government decision aimed at reducing carbon footprint and meeting India’s COP 26 targets by reducing energy wastage, Jain pointed out that waterways are a cheaper mode of transport than roads and railways and the policy aims at changing the modal mix of transportation in India. Terming the already-functional inland waterway 1 as a cheaper and eco-friendly mode of transport, he said that development of the remaining waterways will only improve the system.

Jain elucidated that the current load on India’s roads for transportation is more than what is desirable, while it’s lesser for railways and inland waterways. The improvement of efficiency in logistics via multi-modal connectivity aims at a conscious shift towards more use of railways and waterways to drive down transportation costs as the tonne per kilometre cost is double for roads as compared to the Indian Railways, whose carbon-neutrality target of 2030 will also make the move environmentally-sustainable.

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He said the National Logistics Policy aims to cut costs and optimise travel plans as visibility of modes of transport on the platform will reduce journeys with empty trucks and wagons.

The National Logistics Policy and the PM Gati Shakti scheme plan to make India meet the global benchmark of logistics cost of 8-9 percent of its GDP by 2030, as compared to the present 13-14 percent.

The DPIIT Secretary said that a drop in cost of logistics won’t just benefit Indian consumers, but would also make Indian manufacturers more competitive. He pointed out that the preparation time of the detailed project report (DPR) and land acquisition cases is down from six months to 1 or 1.5 months with the National Logistics Policy shortening the life cycle of development of a project. With a logistics operator needing to interact with 30 systems across even ministries, Jain said that the policy has been able to identify critical infrastructure gaps and make decisions more optimal.

All systems across ministries have been integrated into the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) to bring in efficiency, cut costs as well as allow for use in local languages to make the scheme more pervasive across all stratas of the logistics spectrum.

Also Read: Here is how national logistics policy will aid the logistics sector in India

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Youth of northeast India use films to tell stories about their environment and communities

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Through the use of the visual medium, the Green Hub Project in northeast India engages and empowers youth across eight states in the region, especially from remote tribal areas and marginalised communities, in undertaking conservation action in the region. The video fellowship programme, based in Tezpur, Assam, was started in India by wildlife and environmental filmmaker, Rita Banerji and set up in 2014 as an initiative of North East Network and Dusty Foot Productions.

In the training period, followed by a 10-month internship, the 20 fellows chosen each year, develop skills in video documentation and gain an understanding of how to apply these skills to tell stories in a manner that matters.

By building a deepened link to nature and conservation amidst the youth, Banerji hopes to ignite a spark in them to take this learning back to their communities and work towards protecting and preserving their environments. The use of a visual medium also helps transcend the differences in language and political ideologies across the northeast region and the project doubles up as a platform for social and cultural exchanges.

At the beginning of the programme, the fellows are immersed in intensive training for a period of three months, tailored to equip them with varied skills in video documentation. It comprises a series of workshops which are led by industry experts from across the country. This is combined with lectures from people working in the field on a diverse range of topics from human-animal conflict, natural history, social change and more. In the internship that follows, the fellows work with different organisational partners to create short films to communicate their work. Depending on the needs of the partners, they engage in video documentation based on research, issues and events to inform, raise awareness and educate. At the end of the year, Green Hub hosts a graduation ceremony for the fellows in the form of a film festival.

So far 70 youth from the region have undergone the programme and many are continuing working in the same line and are also spearheading conservation projects within their communities with extended support and a network provided by Green Hub.

While the films are used as a powerful tool to communicate any message, Banerji strongly believes that the documentation it results in is equally important as well. She foresees housing the footage collected to build a comprehensive video archive that helps in preserving traditional ecological knowledge, further develop learning strategies and build other forms of educational tools and materials.

(This story was first published on Mongabay)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

As fall armyworm invades northeast India, scientists scratch the surface of a tree-killing beetle

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As India battles invasion of the cereal-eating moth, fall armyworm (FAW), which is now chomping its way into northeastern states, scientists have turned their attention to another incursion-from the East.

A trunk borer, suspected to have sneaked in from India’s eastern neighbours, has been quietly gnawing away at guava and litchi trees in the northeast region that shares borders with Myanmar, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

The guava and litchi-trunk borer or litchi longhorn beetle (Aristobia reticulator), is an important pest of guava and now litchi in India. It has been reported in guava trees in Meghalaya and Tripura in recent years and in litchi trees in Arunachal Pradesh, where it has caused heavy damage.

And as a first step towards genetic characterisation, that will inform further studies and pest management, researchers have decoded its mitochondrial genome.

“We have just started scratching the surface in terms of understanding the stem borer. It is a longhorn beetle and it is suspected to have come in from neighbouring countries that share international borders with northeastern region of the country,” said Ganesh Behere, Principal Scientist at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region in Meghalaya.

“Despite its significance in the way it economically impacts these fruit trees, there is no molecular data available at all for the borer,” Ganesh Behere told Mongabay-India.

“We are in a position to deal with FAW invasion because we know so much about it, especially in the context of genetic data. Similarly, we need to have molecular data available for the trunk borer. It will also help in the correct identification of the trunk borer because the farmers are largely unaware of its infestation,” explained Behere.

Because the beetle completes its life cycle in a year with their larvae tunnelling inside the stem for that period, the infestation goes unnoticed. “The adult emerges from the trunk for reproduction but the trees are damaged by then. This is when the infestation comes to the fore,” Behere said.

A total of 163 species of longhorn beetles are known from Indian’s northeastern region which forms part of the Indo-Myanmar mega-diversity hotspot.

According to ICAR, this pest is distributed in countries such as Nepal, India, China, and Vietnam. In India, it is mainly restricted to the north-eastern region.

From Africa to Asia, the fall armyworm’s path of destruction

The guava trunk borer can be easily confused with its longhorn relative Aristobia approximator, both having a striking black body with yellow patches, said Behere.

“DNA barcoding would help us identify the exact species,” said Behere.

DNA analysis came in handy to confirm the fast-moving FAW (even at the egg and larval stage) when it had sneaked into India last year (2018), he said.

In India, where the fall armyworm was first reported in Karnataka in 2018, damage to maize fields was initially attributed to cutworms (Spodoptera litura and Mythimna separata) and the true armyworm. The hardy moth’s presence was confirmed through assessment of morphological characters and DNA barcoding according to entomologist C.M. Kalleshwara Swamy. Swamy along with colleague Sharanabasappa first detected FAW in the state at the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences’ maize research plots.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a lepidopteran pest that feeds in large numbers on the leaves and stems of more than 80 plant species, causing major damage to economically important cultivated grasses such as maize, rice and sugarcane but also other vegetable crops and cotton.

After invading the African continent in 2016, the pest then spread to India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and six other Asian nations in 2018.

Having infiltrated southern and western India last year (2018), the fall armyworm has now been detected in northeastern states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya. It is suspected to exist in Sikkim, according to an ICAR advisory. The species is subdivided into two subpopulations called the R-strain and C-strain that differ in their distribution on different plant hosts.

Kalleshwara Swamy said the population introduced in India is performing according to the biological parameters like the population in Africa and Americas and that their studies have demonstrated genetic homogeneity between the South African and Indian fall armyworm populations and substantial similarities between these and collections from eastern Africa.

Genetic data to inform and manage stem borer

Drawing parallels with the FAW genetic data, Behere believes carrying out studies on genetic variation on the guava and litchi trunk borer across different northeastern states would help experts pinpoint the best monitoring and control strategy.

“Because the fall armyworm invading India is genetically similar to those in other countries, strategies like pheromone traps work. But if the stem borers exhibit variations based on location, then a particular pheromone blend that works for the borer in Arunachal may not work as efficiently for the borer in Meghalaya,” Behere explained.

Pheromones are chemicals used by insects and other animals to communicate with each other. Insects send these chemical signals to help attract mates, warn others of predators, or find food.

Using specific pheromones, traps can be used to monitor target pests in agriculture or in residential areas. By constantly monitoring for insects, it may be possible to detect an infestation before it occurs.

“Through customised strategies, we can trap invasive pests and kill them in masses. Because we share international borders with several countries, constant monitoring is essential,” said Behere, adding that northeast India being pro-organic, biological control methods are preferred.

For the FAW for example, he said, although India’s guidelines for its management are uniform across the country, farmers in the northeast would opt for biocontrol rather than chemical control methods specified in the guideline.

Allan Hruska, principal technical coordinator for fall armyworm prevention for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, emphasised that India has the benefit of having a robust research infrastructure, a long history of crop protection, and a vigorous private sector, especially focussing on biological control.

“Of course, the concern is first on the direct impact of FAW on food security and household livelihoods. Pesticides should not be the first line of response, especially for smallholders. They usually don’t make economic sense for smallholders. And they often kill natural enemies, which are very important in naturally controlling FAW,” Hruska told Mongabay-India.

(This story was first published on Mongabay)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow