As per information received here till 7.30 pm, nearly 163 permits were issued at the three ILP counters set up for this purpose. These ILP counters include the one set up at the Mao Gate, a hill station located about 100 km north of Imphal along the Manipur-Nagaland border and an important entry point to Manipur.

An official source said the ILP counter at Jiribam, 220 km west of Imphal along the Assam-Manipur border and another entry point to Manipur, also became functional from today.

People are coming for temporary ILPs at the Jiribam ILP counter. Till now 33 permits and 330 advance application forms have been issued. Those who received the advance applications are likely to come back for the permits, the source said.

An ILP counter has also been opened at the Integrated Check Post at Moreh, the border town of Manipur along the India-Myanmar international border. Meanwhile, there are also reports of issue of permits at the Bir Tikendrajit International Aiport near here.

Following Chief Minister N Biren Singhs announcement regarding implementation of the ILP system in the State from the New Years Day onwards, the State Government published the Manipur ILP guidelines, 2019, in the State gazette on December 31, which came into force with immediate effect.

According to the guidelines, there will be four types of ILP namely, special category permit, regular permit, temporary permit and labour permit. The special category permits will be issued by the Home Department for a period of three years subject to renewal. Regular permits will be issued by deputy commissioners of respective districts for a period of six months. Temporary permits will be issued by deputy commissioners, deputy resident commissioners of the Manipur Bhavans in New Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati, subdivisional officers of Jiribam, Songsong, Jessami, Singhat and Moreh, and officers-in-charge of Mao, Jiribam, Jessami, Moreh, Behiang, Sinjowl and Airport for a period of 15 days subject to renewal.

Labour permits will be issued by the Deputy Labour Commissioner for a specific period. These regulations and guidelines will not apply to foreigners who will be governed by the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, made under the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, and subsequent amendments.