Six nations issued travel restrictions to Assam over law and order situation: Minister
Guwahati, Mar 25 (PTI): Six countries, including the USA, UK, Australia and Switzerland, have issued travel restrictions for their citizens against visiting Assam and the rest of the Northeast over the law and order situation in the region, Assam Tourism Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass informed the assembly on Tuesday.
Dass was replying to a query from Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed.
The countries that have issued the restrictions are the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and Switzerland.
The restrictions are for Assam as well as other northeastern states citing the law and order situation, he said.
Dass said the Tourism Department, on behalf of the state government, is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to persuade these countries to lift these restrictions.
"A high-level team from Australia had recently visited Assam to look into this aspect," the minister added.
He further said the number of tourists visiting the state in the 2022-23 fiscal was 98,31,141, which had dropped to 70,67,335 in 2023-24 and was at 67,88,565 in 2024-25 (till January).
On the promotion of tea tourism, Dass said the 'Promotion and Development of Tea Tourism Infrastructure in Assam' scheme was taken up by the state government in 2022-23.
Under the scheme, selected tea gardens will receive Rs 2 crore grant for the development of tourism potential and heritage bungalows.
A total of 22 tea gardens were selected in the first phase and another 34 in the second phase under the scheme, the minister added.
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KSRTC to run 1000 special services to clear Christmas rush
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will operate 1000 additional special services in view of the Christmas festival.
In addition to the existing schedule, the special services will run on 19.12.2025, 20.12.2025 and 24.12.2025. Further, special buses will be operated from various places of intra & Interstate places to Bengaluru on 26.12.2025 & 28.12.2025.
Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubbali, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and other places.
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Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri.
The corporation has also announced a discount of 5 per cent on the fare if four or more passengers book tickets under a single reservation. A discount of 10 per cent will be extended on return journey tickets if onward and return tickets are booked simultaneously.
In addition to the above, special buses will be operated from all Taluk/District Bus Stands in the jurisdiction of KSRTC based on the traffic needs.
