Bhutan May Withdraw Travel Advisory on Assam

Guwahati, Mar 9 : The Bhutan government is likely to withdraw its advisory issued in 2003 barring its citizens from travel to Assam. Revealing this on Monday, Dasho Tsering Wangda, Bhutanese Consul General based in Kolkata, said Bhutan was considering withdrawal of ban on its people visiting Assam “because the situation has improved drastically in the past few months”.

“We cannot stop our people from coming to Assam any longer. While Guwahati is the nearest economic and educational hub for people of Eastern Bhutan, we want our students to come to Assam to pursue higher studies as early as possible,” he said.

Wangda said while Bhutan had banned its citizens from travelling to Assam in the wake of army operations against the ULFA, NDFB and KLO militants, who had set up bases inside its territory in 2003, over 200 Bhutanese students had been prevented from pursuing higher education in Guwahati.

“Things are much better now. Our students cannot afford to not come to Guwahati. Moreover a large number of patients who would have normally travelled to Guwahati for specialized medical treatment have been compelled to travel to Kolkata. We want to remove the restrictions as soon as possible,” Wangda said.