Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Monday launched Nagaland tourist police at the state police headquarters in Kohima to ensure a safe and friendly environment for tourists during Hornbill Festival starting from December 1 at Kisama near Kohima.

Nagaland is the second northeastern state to launch tourist police after Arunachal Pradesh.

“Happy to launch @NLTouristPolice who will be responsible for ensuring a safe and secure celebration during the #HornbillFestival. With a strength of 50 female and 23 male personnel, the squad will ensure that guests are received well and they are available 24x7 for emergency situations,” Rio said in his Twitter post after launching the special police squad.

The special squad — comprising 73 police personnel, including 50 women police from the India Reserve Battalion — was given specialised training for five days by Nagaland police along with the state’s tourism department last week.

The state police also organised an orientation programme for the special police squad at the police headquarters in Kohima on November 17. Tourist police had been introduced to protect and serve tourists, build up their confidence, create hassle-free and memorable stay, prevent harassment and help tourists on matters relating to passport, visa, currency exchange, among others, an official release stated.

Nagaland director-general of police T.J. Longkumer said tourist police personnel had been asked to be well-dressed and courteous.

They will be deployed in Dimapur station, Dimapur airport, Chumukedima police check-gate and 12 sectors in Kohima.