AIZAWL: Peace has been restored in several troubled areas of the Northeast.
This was claimed by minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) – G Kishan Reddy.
DoNER minister G Kishan Reddy has claimed that peace has been restored in some troubled areas of the Northeast due to a substantial development policy implemented by the NDA government in the region.
He said that the topmost priority of central government in the Northeast is infrastructural development.
“Substantial developments have taken place in the Northeast in the last 8 years like air, road, telecom and cultural connectivities. With infrastructure connectivities and developmental activities taking place we can now see peace in some troubled areas in the region,” Reddy said while briefing media persons at Aizawl in Mizoram.
He said that people are expecting for development as the situation is now peaceful.
The DoNER minister added that the Centre has taken a number of initiatives for developmental activities in the Northeast.
He said that the Centre has been developing 100 roadside amenities, including points in the Northeast and 9 of them will be constructed in Mizoram.
Reddy, who also holds the Tourism and Culture portfolios, inaugurated International Tourism Mart (ITM) in Aizawl on Thursday evening.
The mega tourism event is being organised jointly by the Union Tourism Ministry and Mizoram tourism department to highlight the tourism potential of the Northeast in domestic and international markets.
The event will focus on ‘priorities of G20 for tourism track’, as India will assume a yearlong presidency of the influential group from December 1 to November 30 next year, Reddy said.
“We have to use this occasion (G-20 meetings) to showcase our cultural richness. Our focus will be to increase the global Investments not only in the hospitality industry, but also to promote entertainment centers, adventure tourism, cruise tourism and wellness tourism,” Reddy said while addressing the mart at R. Dengthuama Hall on the southern outskirts of Aizawl.
More than 200 G-20 meetings will be held in the countries across over 50 cities, including capitals of Northeastern states, according to the Union Minister.
The G-20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.
Reddy said that the Northeastern region has great tourism potentials, which are yet to be explored.
He said that the Union Tourism Ministry placed special importance on the development and the promotion of tourism in the northeastern states.
The Union Minister also said that the Centre has planned to set up a National Digital tourism mission to promote tourism in the country.
“Today as we are gathered here for the ITM, we must come together and discuss new ideas to promote the tourism sector within the Northeast region as we get ready to preside over G 20 countries also. We must work towards positioning India as one of the leaders in the tourism sector by 2047,” Reddy said.
The International Tourism Marts are organized in the North-Eastern states on rotation basis.
Mizoram is hosting this Mart for the first time this year. The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong, Gangtok, Agartala, Imphal and Kohima.
This time the mart will include presentations by the eight northeastern states on their tourism potential, cultural heritages, sightseeing visits to a tourist resort at Reiek, about 95 km from Aizawl.
It will also include business-to-business (B2B) meetings where buyers from different regions of the country will engage in one-on-one meetings with sellers from the northeast region.
Also, an exhibition including display of beautiful handicrafts and handlooms is being organised at Assam Rifles ground here to showcase the tourism products of respective participating states.