USA and Canada Travel Alerts for India ! Avoid non essential travel to 6 Indian States

The United States and also Canada alerted their citizens to avoid “non-essential travel to the northeast of India in view of the ongoing protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. The Canada embassy issued a travel advisory on Saturday for its citizens requesting them to avoid their trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Arunachal Pradesh is the northeasternmost state of India. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east, and China in the north, with which the border is the McMahon Line. Itanagar is the state capital.

Assam is a state in northeastern India known for its wildlife, archeological sites and tea plantations. In the west, Guwahati, Assamโ€™s largest city, features silk bazaars and the hilltop Kamakhya Temple. Umananda Temple sits on Peacock Island in the Brahmaputra river. The state capital, Dispur, is a suburb of Guwahati. The ancient pilgrimage site of Hajo and Madan Kamdev, the ruins of a temple complex, lie nearby.

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south, and Assam to the west; Myanmar lies to its east.

Meghalaya is a hilly state in northeastern India. The name means “the abode of clouds” in Sanskrit. The population of Meghalaya as of 2016 is estimated to be 3,211,474. Meghalaya covers an area of approximately 22,430 square kilometres, with a length to breadth ratio of about 3:1.

Mizoram is a state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its capital city. The name is derived from “Mizo”, the name of the native inhabitants, and “Ram”, which means land, and thus Mizoram means “land of the Mizos”

Nagaland is a mountainous state in northeast India, bordering Myanmar. It’s home to diverse indigenous tribes, with festivals and markets celebrating the different tribes’ culture. Its capital city of Kohima suffered heavy fighting in World War II, commemorated by memorials at the Kohima War Cemetery. The Nagaland State Museum exhibits ancient weaponry, a ceremonial drum and other traditional Naga cultural artifacts.

For another 48 hours, the internet has been suspended in Assam and Tripura.Twitter

The embassy has also stated that the internet and mobile communications have been temporarily suspended and transport facilities have also been affected in various parts of the northeast region. People of these states are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment ACT for over a week now. Earlier, the US government also warned its citizens against visiting the northeastern states of India due to the ongoing protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Tens of thousands of protesters against CAB โ€” which has now become a law, have taken to the streets of northeast since Wednesday, clashing with police and plunging the region into chaos.

Citizenship amendment bill protest

AASU holds a protest in Dibrugarh against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Protests in Assam

Meanwhile,ย Assam continued to be in flames asย anti-Citizenship Amendment Billย protesters set ablaze the house of an MLA, torched vehicles and burnt down a circle office as the state government removed two key police officers including the Guwahati Police Commissioner.

The Army conducted flag march in Guwahati, while the authorities extended the suspension of internet services across the state for another 48 hours from 12 noon on Thursday, even as most airlines canceled flights to and from Dibrugarh and Guwahati, and train movement was halted.

Munna Prasad Gupta was appointed the new Guwahati police chief replacing Deepak Kumar, while state Additional General of Police (Law and Order) Mukesh Agarwal was also transferred out.ย In an appeal to the people, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal called for maintaining peace and calm.

“I assure the people of Assam full protection to ensure their identity as a whole,” Sonowal said in a statement here, urging the masses to “please come forward and create a situation of peace and tranquillity.ย I hope the people will consider this appeal sensibly,” he said.

Officials said protesters set fire to the house of MLA Binod Hazarika in Chabua and went on a rampage torching vehicles and the circle office.

1576208628 assam citizenship bill protest | eTurboNews | eTN

Demonstrators against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 that was tabled in the Rajya Sabha.IANSIANS

With the situation worsening, the Army was conducting flag marches in Guwahati where protesters violated the curfew on Thursday morning.

Most flights to and from Guwahati and Dibrugarh have been canceled by various airlines, while the railways suspended all passenger train services to Assam.

“Indigo Airlines has canceled one flight to Guwahati from Kolkata. The flights to Dibrugarh are being cancelled by most airlines due to the ongoing protests. However, Indigo will operate a ferry flight to bring back the stranded passengers from Dibrugarh,” an NSCBI Airport spokesperson said.

A Northeast Frontier Railway official said the decision to suspend passenger train operations to Assam and Tripura was taken on Wednesday night in view of the security situation.

A large number of passengers were stranded at Guwahati and Kamakhya with the railways’ short-terminating long-distance trains at Guwahati.

Protests in Meghalaya

Meghalaya too was put under lockdown as mobile and internetย services were blocked across the state for two days. An indefinite curfew has also been imposed inย parts of capital city Shillong.

Mobile phone videos from the region being circulated on the internet show at leastย two cars on fire and a scramble to shut the town’s main shopping street, the Police Bazar. Another video showsย a massive torchlight rally being taken out on one of the town’s main road.

Young men and women holding banners were filmed shouting ‘Conrad go back’ in front of the chief minister’s convoy.

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