CISF prevents students of Manipur from entering the Taj Mahal

A group of students from Manipur were prevented from entering the Taj Mahal because the CISF personnel on duty believed that they were foreigners and were posing as Indians to enter on the tickets of Rs 40 instead of Rs 1000.
As per rules, at the Taj Mahal, tickets issued to foreign tourists (barring those from SAARC and BIMSTEC countries) cost Rs 1,000 each, while an Indian has to pay Rs 40 per ticket.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 10 January 2017.

According to the complaint of the students — they were from the Central Agricultural University in Imphal and had gone to visit the monument as part of an all-India educational tour. They had reached the gates at around 3.30 pm on Sunday and were allegedly not allowed to enter on grounds that they “resembled foreigners” trying to pass off as Indians so they could enter with cheaper tickets.
The students produced their ID cards and a letter which stated that they were on a national tour but, that did not help even though a professor was accompanying the group. CISF then asked the students to produce their Aadhaar cards, and only those who had the card were allowed to enter.
Subsequently, after intervention of the tourism police, the group was allowed to enter.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has ordered an inquiry into the incident.


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10th international Manipur polo tournament 2016

The 10th international Manipur polo tournament 2016 began at the historic polo ground in the heart of Imphal city, the capital of border state. This tournament has teams from four overseas countries and is a part of the Sangai tourism festival.
The four overseas countries are Australia, United Kingdom, Kenya and the United States and they will be pitted against two Indian teams in the polo tournament.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 22 November 2016.

Declaring the tournament open, Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh indicated that the game will be played in the oldest polo ground in the world, Mapal Kangjeibung.
The ponies that are used in polo are found only in Manipur and the species is now listed in the endangered animals of the world. Hardly 2000 of them are said to be in existence in Manipur. Earlier, foreign players used to bring horses from their countries to the tournament. But, these well trained horses did not stand anywhere near the ponies. Therefore, the foreign players have stopped bringing their horses and are now depending on the local ponies.


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The ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur because it serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply.
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