Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday evening said he would meet the US ambassador to India to take up the “incorrect” travel advisory issued by the US asking its citizens to “reconsider travel” to the Northeast “due to terrorism and violence”.
The US travel advisory, issued on June 16, had urged visitors to India “to exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism”. For the Northeast, it said, “reconsider travel to this area due to terrorism and violence”.
Sangma said in Shillong that he would apprise the ambassador of the “incorrect” advisory and seek a review of the same.
The chief minister said he will also discuss the matter with the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of home affairs, as the advisory has given a wrong picture of the state and the Northeast as a whole.
He also urged the media to counter such narratives against the state where tourism is a key economic mainstay.
Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong had on Monday asserted that Meghalaya was the “safest” place to visit and spend holidays, while questioning how the US reached the conclusion that Meghalaya was unsafe.
“US government employees working in India require prior approval before visiting the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as when visiting any areas outside of the capital cities of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura,” the advisory stated, among others.
It categorically stated: “Do not travel to Manipur due to the threat of violence and crime.”