The newly launched Tourist Police (TP) of Nagaland has been able to generate much goodwill among both domestic and foreign tourists, who took to social media to share their positive experiences and shower praise on TP personnel.
Offering 24×7 specialised services exclusively for tourists, TP was launched by chief minister Neiphiu Rio at PHQ, Kohima on November 26, ahead of the 10-day Hornbill Festival. It was launched with the objective of ensuring seamless transit to travellers to and from Nagaland, besides giving tourists a hassle-free experience in the State.
In one incident at Kisama village, a young boy was separated from his parents while watching a cultural show. However, with the help of the TP personnel, the boy was reunited with his parents Sanjay and Anushka Tendulkar.
A lady travel blogger, Parnashree Devi, took to Twitter, acknowledging the support of dedicated TP personnel. Devi said TP personnel, on seeing her standing alone for a taxi in Kohima, approached her to find out whether she needed any help.
“They not just helped me get a taxi, but made sure that I was comfortable enough,” she tweeted.
Karl Rock, an expat from New Zealand currently living in India, tweeted his experience: “@delhipoliceofficial Nagaland has amazing Tourist Police. They’re super friendly, proactive, and will help you with anything. In my case they took me to the taxi stand and made sure the driver was not overcharging.”
Prominent Christian music artiste Dr Beny Prasad said, soon after he landed at Dimapur airport, it was wonderful to get a warm welcome from TP personnel.
A group of 73 men and women are part of the TP, a novel initiative of the State’s police department.
Nagaland is the second State in the Northeast to launch such a police force for ensuring safety and security of tourists during the Hornbill Festival held from December 1 every year.
Meanwhile, interacting with this reporter on Monday, two female TP personnel, who were deployed at the airport from December 1, said they were both from 15 Indian Reserve (IR) Battalion and that it was their last day as tourist police since they had not been assigned this duty permanently. The two were seen escorting passengers to their destinations during the 12-hour bandh called by Public Action Committee (PAC).
Narrating their experience, they said it was an enlightening and interesting experience for them as all the tourists were different, with some of them visiting the State for the first time and some being regular visitors.
When asked how their past 10 days of assignment had been, they said it was a privilege for them to help the public in general, adding that it was vastly different and more convenient from their regular patrolling duty with heavy arms and ammunition.
They opined that the tourists were very appreciative of the services rendered by the TP personnel, with some tourists even reportedly commenting that they would want to visit Nagaland again, if assisted by the specialised police force on their arrival.
When asked how tourists reacted to the PAC’s bandh, the two TP personnel commented that some of them seemed quite surprised as they had no clue what the bandh was meant for. However, the TP personnel located at various locations made sure that the travellers were taken to their respective destinations safely with the help of the police escort.