New Delhi (NVI): The Sikkim government has announced that it will welcome back tourists from October 10, after keeping its borders closed for visitors for a long time due to the spread of coronavirus.
The state government has also permitted hotels, homestays and all tourism-related services to restart operations.
Ravindra Telang, Principal Secretary of Home in Sikkim, signed an order in which it was mentioned that the state is ready to allow interstate travel from October 1. The order read, “It has been decided to allow the free interstate movement of people without any requirement of registration with effect from 1 October and also permit hotels, homestays, and other tourism-related services to operate from 10 October.”
Notably, the Sikkim border with West Bengal will also be reopened for unrestricted road travel from October 1, as per the reports.
The state will also issue standard operating procedures (SOP) for hotels and the tourism sector in the coming days. Therefore, tourists keen on making a trip to Sikkim can start booking hotels and homestays from September 27.
On the other hand, Inner Line Permits for international tourists with valid visas would be granted from October 10.
The Himalayan state had imposed the odd-even aka road rationing rule, by limiting the cars on road as per the last digits of the registration number, in order to reduce movement amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the reports.
Meanwhile, Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim has been put under a complete lockdown from September 21 and it will go on till September 27 to curb the rising COVID-19 cases.
-RJV
