E-Paper
Assam may start permit system for entry after Covid-19 lockdown ends, says minister
Four state s in the Northeast - Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh - currently have the Inner Line Permit regime which controls the flow of outsiders to these states.
After a spurt in coronavirus cases in Assam, the state’s finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that the government might start a permit system for those who have to enter the state after the lockdown.
“The Assam government is considering starting a permit system for people willing to enter the state after coronavirus lockdown ends,” Sarma said at a press conference in Guwahati according to PTI.
Currently, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are four states in the Northeast where outsiders need an inner line permit to visit.
The Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the state governments to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. For Indian citizens from outside those states, it is obligatory to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state.
Sarma did not specify what kind of permit the government the government was looking at.
Twenty five of the 26 cases of Covid-19 in Assam are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area last month.
The government had urged those who had attended the event to come forewrd for tests.
At the press conference, Sarma warned that Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the event will be booked if they do not report for tests.
“Cases will be filed against Tablighi Jamaat attendees from Assam who fail to report for testing by today,” he said.
