Imported ‘gamosas’

The drive against imported machine-made gamosas has been hitting a technical roadblock over the years, and all action the state government claims to have taken to check the menace seems to have been a farce, says a report in the Assam Tribune. Thousands of these, made in power looms and machines, are seized every year, but due to the absence of a testing laboratory the law enforcement agencies are not able to establish the charges and bring the traders to book. The seized gamosas are sent to the regional office of the Textiles Committee in Kolkata for tests. The Centre, under the ministry of textiles, is the only approved testing laboratory for the eastern region.

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But in a majority of the cases the laboratory has failed to ascertain if the seized items were made in handloom or powerloom, an official at the Directorate of handloom and textiles said. Some of the replies received from the Kolkata-based laboratory are, “In our considerate opinion, there is no standard procedure to ascertain the origin of the product — whether handloom or powerloom. Not in a position to undertake the tests, returning samples.”

RAP relaxation

Foreign tourists, except from Pakistan and China, may soon be allowed to visit some of the most pristine locations of the country, out of bounds so far for them without a special permit, says a report in the Assam Tribune. The Union home ministry is examining whether to relax the six decade-old Restricted Area Permit system under which foreigners have to obtain a special permission to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, among others. Union minister of state for home affairs said the ministry will coordinate with other agencies and the state governments to identify the possible locations.

Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958, all areas falling between the Inner Line and the International Border of some states have been declared protected areas. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, besides parts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. Some parts of Sikkim fall under the protected area regime while others under the restricted area.

As per a 30 December 2010 circular of the MHA, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland were excluded from the protected area regime initially for a period of one year from 1 January 2011, subject to some conditions.

Every foreigner, except citizens of Bhutan, who desire to enter and stay in a protected or restricted area, is required to obtain a special permit from a competent authority.

Meanwhile, the Congress has opposed the Centre’s plan to relax the RAP in Arunachal Pradesh and urged Governor Brig BD Mishra (retd) to intervene as the state shares borders with three foreign countries. In a memorandum, the Congress said, “Arunachal is a very sensitive border state with China claiming parts of its territory. The recent construction of a road by China inside the Indian territory at Tuting in Upper Siang district speaks volume of the state’s sensitiveness. In such a situation if tourists are allowed to move freely there is every apprehension of spying in the sensitive border areas”.