Manipuris in Canada writes to Chidambaram for lifting PAP
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Sobhapati Samom

Imphal, November 27 2011: Manipuri Association of Canada (MAC) has urged the New Delhi remove Protected Area Permit (PAP) requirement for foreigners entering Manipur, on a permanent basis as a subsequent action to the much praised temporary lifting of the same a year ago.

"In full gratitude I join the three million Manipuris in India and abroad to acknowledge your sense of social justice and political wisdom in removing Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime from Manipur and two other states in North-East India effective January 01, 2011 initially for one year", says President of MAC Rajkumar Singh in a memorandum to Union Home Affairs Minister p Chidambaram.

"This was an important milestone in India's renewed venture to solve the multifarious problems plaguing the North-Eastern Region (NER)" .

The memorandum urged the Home Minister to remove PAP requirement for foreigners visiting Manipur on a permanent basis as a subsequent action to the much praised temporary lifting of the same a year ago.

"This will lay a true foundation of development in India's NER", added the memorandum which was e-mailed here.

In a life without PAP regime, and favoured by other paraphernalia of India's new thrust of development initiatives in the region, we can expect to see an unprecedented increase in academic standards of the universities, research and development works, foreign direct investment, productivity and flow of merchandise, trade and commerce, socio-cultural integration and general sense of security, progress and satisfaction in the NER in the days ahead, it added.

"People in the NER have been languishing for all these for years.

The period of temporary lifting of PAP that came into effect on January 01, 2011 is coming to an end by December 31, 2011", it added.

"This may mean bringing an end to the hopes and aspirations that just started blossoming in the minds of the Manipuris and the other people in India's North-East.

We wish to stop this from happening" .

MAC is quite confident that Government of India will be sympathetic enough to remove PAP Regime permanently from Manipur.

Meanwhile, an Imphal based newspaper on Sunday reported that the PAP "is set to be lifted completely from the state" under "certain conditions" .

Manipur's home department had also sent an official letter to MHA in connection with complete relaxation of PAP from the state in a move to help state's tourism industry.

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