At least 10 persons have been arrested in Meghalaya for stopping tourists from Assam from entering the state, reported The Indian Express on Sunday.
This came days after four first information reports were filed against various groups in connection with the alleged assault of migrant labourers who were checked for “work permits”.
On Friday, members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Federation had set up a “check-point” at Umtyngngar, about 20 kilometres from the state capital Shillong, the newspaper reported. They prevented vehicles bearing Assam registration plates from travelling to the popular tourist destinations of Sohra and Dawki.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Sylvester Nongtnger told The Indian Express that they had received information about the unauthorised blockade at around 11 am on Friday.
The 10 persons were arrested after they continued to turn away Assam-registered vehicles despite being asked to stand down, Nongtnger said.
The blockade has hurt tourism in the region, reported The Hindu.
“The incident led to a 30% drop in hotel accommodation bookings on Friday and about 35% today [Saturday], although we feared it would go down by 50%,” said Paramvir Sehdave, president of the Federation of Shillong Hotels, to the newspaper. “Thankfully, the checking of vehicles was withdrawn.”
A spokesperson for the Tour Operators’ Association of Meghalaya said they were anticipating “tough days” ahead given recent developments in the state.
“It took us many years to build up the tourism footfall that Meghalaya enjoys today,” said the association’s president Banlum Blah. “Friday’s incident has undone much of our hard work.”
On Tuesday, the United States advised its citizens to “reconsider travel” to parts of India’s North East for fear of occasional violence perpetrated by “ethnic insurgent groups”.
The Khasi Students’ Union had on July 9 checked migrant labourers for “work permits” amid its renewed calls for the implementation of an Inner Line Permit in Meghalaya.
The Hindu reported that similar action has been taken by the Federation of Khasi Jaintia Garo People in recent days.
The Inner Line Permit, a document required by foreigners and non-local Indian citizens to visit designated “protected areas” in the North East, is a long-standing demand of tribal groups in Meghalaya. The permit is applicable in Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and most of Nagaland.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma clarified earlier this month that there is no such thing as a “work permit” for labourers from outside the state. He added that any individual or organisation inspecting migrant labourers for such papers was on the “wrong side of the law”.
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