Arunachal Pradesh, the beautiful state in India’s North-East, is usually in the news mainly for border issues with our neighboring country China. But this time the hilly state had some good news to share as they launched a tourist police and tourist app to promote tourism.

The largest northeastern state, which has 82 per cent forest cover area, will see the presence of tourist police in the following districts of the state ~ Tawang, Bomdila, Itanagar, Ziro, Pasighat, Tezu, Namsai and Changlang. Technically equipped, the tourist police will be present at all the major tourist spots and be ready to help tourists.

“All the districts will be provided with vehicles fitted with wireless communication equipment and manned by specially-trained personnel to respond to the needs of any tourist in distress,” said SBK Singh, Director General of Police (DGP), Arunachal Pradesh. These tourist police will be different from other police.

In fact, they will be more technically equipped. They will have distinctive vehicles, uniform and specialised training in soft skills, languages, rules and regulations. Other than this, the Special Force will also be trained to have a friendly attitude towards tourists so that they feel comfortable whenever they feel like approaching them. Tourist Police personnel will be specially trained in crime against women and how to professionally respond to various situations concerning tourists.

“Safety is a key aspect for any tourist visiting a destination. The launch of the Tourist Police in the state is one of the initiatives that Arunachal Pradesh Police has taken to address the perception and concern of tourists regarding safety,” he added.

Tourism in the state is growing very rapidly. The state witnessed over 3.5 lakh tourists in 2016. With the introduction of Tourists Police, the state is targeting to attract more tourists. These police personnel will be educated about the local tourist attractions and modes of transportation, accommodation, hospitals and so on.

“Our state is popular among tourists for its splendid beauty and serene landscapes. Our Himalayan mountain range, stretching across the entire state offers one-of-its-kind experiential road trip options,” said Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, Pema Khandu, during the launch.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in February this year steered us to work more seriously on making Arunachal one of the best tourist destinations, not only in India but worldwide.” Other than this, the government also launched a mobile app, Arunachal Suraksha, which a tourist needs to download on one’s mobile phone and get information about and make calls to the nearest police station during an emergency.