Gangtok: The apolitical Nationalist Sikkim United Organisation
(NSUO) on Tuesday iterated its demand for the introduction of Inner
Line Permit (ILP) in the state to check the influx of people from
outside, but tourism stakeholders sounded an alarm, saying this could
have a negative impact on the industry.
Tshering Wangchuk Lepcha, the coordinator of the NSUO, said the introduction of ILP would put in place a system to check influx.
"It is very important to introduce ILP to prevent influx of
people from outside to Sikkim. Migration is a known fact, but there has
to be a system to check it," he said, while speaking at a function to
observe "Samjhauta Diwas" to commemorate the signing of the tripartite
treaty by India, the Chogyal of Sikkim and political parties of Sikkim
on May 8, 1973.
The ILP is an official travel document issued by the Centre to
allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into certain areas for a
limited period.
It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain an entry permit.
At present, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram are the three states where ILP is in operation.
Tourism stakeholders in Sikkim, however, feared the
introduction of any measure that would hamper the hassle-free entry of
tourists to the state could have a negative impact on tourism.
"There are already restrictions in place for movement of
tourists, especially foreigners, in the state. Even domestic tourists
are required to take special passes to visit certain areas. Now, if ILP
requires entry passes for every visitor to Sikkim, it would obviously
have a negative impact. A wrong message will go across," said Gopal
Chhetri, the secretary of the Travel Agents Association of Sikkim
(TASS).
Sikkim receives almost 15 lakh tourists annually, and the
government plans to double the figure in the next few years. The tourism
sector was hit hard last year because of the agitation in the
Darjeeling hills.
Sikkim receives a large number of visitors from the neighbouring Bengal and most of them are from Calcutta.
The Telegraph