Mayodia and Tawang, two of the most popular tourist hotspots in Arunachal Pradesh, are facing a sharp downturn in footfall and trade owing to the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in neighbouring Assam and the rest of the country.

“Tawang is 603km from Bogibeel bridge in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district, while Mayodia is 103km from Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola-Sadiya bridge) in Tinsukia district. However, the anti-CAA protests have affected tourist footfall. Only constructing bridges and roads will not do, there should be stability, peace, safety, security and economic development for making these places tourist hubs,” said Diptendu Banerjee, a hodophile from Bengal’s Purulia district told The Telegraph.

He had come to visit Arunachal Pradesh but cancelled the programme sensing trouble.

Mayodia is tucked away in Upper Dibang Valley district in eastern Arunachal, while Tawang is in West Kameng district, the easternmost part of the country.

Mayodia had been fast becoming the most-favoured destination of those who want to experience the magic of snowfall and was included among 10 most favourite snowfall spots in the country after the inauguration of the Bhupen Hazarika Setu in 2017.

Tamo Mibang, who runs two guesthouses at Roing, 57km from Mayodia, said the inflow of tourists had gone down drastically.

“All traders, including those dependent on the tourism business, are facing financial downturn,” he said.

There is heavy snowfall at Mayodiya and Tawang in January and in the first half of February. The journey to Mayodia pass is an adventure in itself. For a tourist starting from Dibrugarh airport, snow-capped Mayodia is a five-hour expedition. Earlier, the ferry ride on the Brahmaputra from Dholaghat to Sadiya took another two hours. The Setu has saved almost two to three hours of the journey to Mayodia. Travelling to Tawang has also become comfortable owing to the Bogibeel bridge and roads maintained by the Border Roads Organisation.

“CAA has dampened people’s enthusiasm in visiting Tawang and Mayodia for fun and amusement,” said Pathik Das, a resident of Silchar of Assam.

A senior tourism department official said, “The Arunachal Pradesh government has been working constantly to attract more tourists. Infrastructure has been improved. It seems the CAA cloud looms large on the tourism industry this year. However, we are doing our best to promote tourism.”

The BJP-led government in Delhi took a slew of measures aimed at creating more jobs and increasing India’s share in the global tourism market by adopting a new National Tourism Policy. The tourism ministry sanctioned Rs 131 lakh for the development of four rural tourism sites in Arunachal Pradesh and other states. It also launched Swadesh Darshan but all these measures have been unable to boost the sector owing to CAA protests, the official said.