US Cautions Its Citizens Traveling To India

The US asked its citizens to exercise ‘increased caution’ while traveling to India. The new travel advisory issued on Friday by the US State Department reduced the level to 2 from 2, the latter being the highest.

In the travel advisory, the US advised the citizens to travel to India with ‘increased caution’ due to crime and terrorism.

The advisory read, ‘Do not travel to:

• The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest.
• Within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border due to the potential for armed conflict.

Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest-growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations.

Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal as U.S. government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to these areas.‘