Imdia Nepal tourism groups seek immigration centres at Darjeeling district border points

MANAS R BANNERJEE, SNS, MECHINAGAR (NEPAL). 20 AUGUST 2022: Nepal and India jointly organised a programme on cross border tourism at Mechi in east Nepal near Siliguri today.

In the event organised in association with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), representatives of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) and the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators Association (EHT-TOA) from India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to bring in more development in eastern Nepal.

EHT-TOA has demanded an immigration centre on the Indian side at Pashupatinagar, the border town in Nepal near Mirik in Darjeeling for foreign tourists to either enter Nepali or India with case, and visit tourist destinations like Ilam and other places in eastern Nepal.

"We have demanded setting up of an immigration centre at Pashupatinagar to open up another route to visit Nepal for tourists. Both NATTA and EHT-TOA will work together to bring in development in eastern Nepal. Massive development will come up there if the immigration centre is operational," General Secretary of EHTTOA Sandipan Ghosh said.

"An MoU had been signed in 2018 too, but due to the Covid pandemic the understanding between the two organisations is yet to be renewed. However, NATTA has finally decided to renew the MoU to revive the tourism industry in the post-Covid situation. It will help both of us," Mr Ghosh said.

On the other hand, NATTA President Udaya Shrestha said that Nepal has already set up an immigration centre at Pashupatinagar, but that India is yet to do so. "We urge EHT-TOA to take this matter up Indian authorities, they could be local, state or central, so that foreign tourists can easily go to the Indian side through the Pashupatinagar border, and vice versa," Mr Shrestha said.

He added that there is a problem when it comes to foreigners entering the Indian side at the Kakarvitta border near Siliguri too.

"India is not allowing in/out visa at the Kakarvitta border, while there is no such problem on the Nepal side. Tourists can go to India easily from that border if India okayes our out visa," Mr Shrestha said, adding that Nepal and Indian organizations now need to hold more joint programmes to boost tourism in the region.

Notably, EHT-TOA's Debashis Chakraborty pointed out to the need of an immigration centre at Pashupatinagar in the interest of tourism.

Several issues, including the immigration centre, were raised during a panel discussion on prospects of cross-border tourism.

It is learnt that Indian government officials had inspected the spot for a proposed immigration centre at the border twice, but that things did not move ahead.

Sources said that the district administration in Illam in Nepal now plans to hold talks with the Indian government, as West Bengal government's consent and cooperation is a must for the same.

Nepal Tourism Board official Surya Thapalia talked about how the NTB was working for proper development of tourism in the east.

A senior journalist, Birat Anupam, who is also a tourism activist, presented a paper and stressed on the need to develop relations on the basis of the history of the two countries.