It’s paradise on earth - the beautiful Shungetser Lake at Tawang. @BJP4India @PMOIndia @tourismgoi @incredibleindia… https://t.co/5Uy59O30wU — Pema Khandu (@PemaKhanduBJP) 1521871411000

NEW DELHI: Far-flung and remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh could soon receive foreign tourists with the Centre moving to ease entry rules under the ‘protected area permit regime’. The north-eastern state is likely to be the first beneficiary of the more relaxed norms, with Sikkim and Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir likely to be progressively opened up.After a meeting of the inter-ministerial coordination committee on tourism sector, the government has decided that tourists visiting Arunchal Pradesh will now be able to acquire inner-line and protected area permits for a period of five years, instead of the two-year permits that were allowed earlier.The Union ministry of tourism is looking to increase tourist inflow to Arunachal’s Tawang valley, Ziro and Bomdila, among the most picturesque parts of the state. More areas in other border states could become gradually accessible to tourists once the Union home ministry takes stock of concerns over movement of foreigners in sensitive areas.Welcoming MHA’s moves to relax norms, tourism minister K J Alphons said, "We wrote to MHA two years ago asking for easier norms to allow more tourists to visit Arunachal Pradesh. Easing these norms will facilitate tourism and allow more people to be able to see far flung places”.Read this story in BengaliSpeaking to TOI, tourism secretary Rashmi Verma said, “The effort is to open up Arunachal Pradesh to more tourists. While Tawang is among the most popular destinations in Arunachal due to its Buddhist connect, the ministry is also in the process of exploring eco-tourism potential of the Dibang valley in eastern Arunachal.”As a sneak peek of the sites Arunachal Pradesh offers to tourists, Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu took to Twitter and posted pictures of the Shungetser lake and other destinations in the Tawang valley.The home ministry is supportive of the move and will soon seek details from border states concerned on alternative mechanisms they have in mind to track incoming international tourist traffic and rule out any security concerns.“I took a review meeting on Friday to discuss the demand of several border states as well as ministry of tourism that the PAP regime be eased and certain areas of tourist interest be opened up to attract more foreign travellers. The home ministry is agreeable to easing PAP rules by either making it easier for foreigners to obtain the PAP or do away with it altogether for certain border areas, provided any security concerns are taken care of by the states,” junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told TOI on Sunday.“The states will be asked how they plan to register foreigners who enter the state to access these border areas...whether it will an online process? Also, how the movement of foreign citizens will be tracked and their exit from the state recorded,” said Rijiju.Read this story in Malayalam