Bhubaneswar, June 22: The United States of America (USA) on Sunday issued a new travel advisory and cautioned its female citizens against traveling alone to six specific Indian states including Odisha.
The fresh advisory advised female tourists to exercise heightened caution while visiting to six Indian states including Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Meghalaya, particularly when traveling alone or in remote areas.
“The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in rural areas. These areas stretch from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal. Due to risk, US government employees working in India must obtain special authorization to travel to these states,” the notification read.
The advisory specifically stated that women should avoid traveling alone in these regions, particularly outside of capital cities, unless special precautions are taken or prior permissions are secured.
“Do not travel alone, especially if you are a woman,” the advisory said.
The US also marked Jammu & Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border areas, and some parts of northeast India as sensitive zones due to security concerns and reiterated its earlier warnings.
Interestingly, while giving this warning, the US State Department admitted that the United States is also one of the countries with the highest number of sexual violence cases.
This has sparked discussion about how safe international travel really is for women.
Responding to it, Food Suppliers and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra called Odisha a peaceful place and highlighted the government's zero-tolerance on crime.
"There’s no place in the world as peace-loving as Odisha. While crimes do happen, our government follows a strict zero-tolerance policy. Is the U.S. free of crime? Even Trump and the White House have faced attacks,” said Patra.
On the other hand, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan remarked that America is unable to accept India’s position as the world’s fourth-largest economy and its likely rise to third place soon.
He alleged that a conspiracy is being plotted against India, while the U.S. itself struggles with riots, crimes against women, and a deteriorating law and order situation. He added that the U.S. should focus on resolving its own issues instead of commenting on India’s internal affairs.
