Soon, battery-operated vehicles at Amber

Jaipur: In order to check pollution at Amber Fort, the Department of Archaeology & Museums will start battery-operated vehicles to ferry tourists to the fort. The initiative would be launched on Gandhi Jayanti.

Private players have been roped in to facilitate tourists at the historical monument. Battery-operated vehicles, bearing a heritage look, would ferry tourists from the base of the fort to Jaleb Chowk after the elephant safari.

"The objective is to reduce pollution at the world heritage monument. We have signed an MoU with a private firm. In the first phase, the vehicles would use the main entry gate after the elephant ride gets over at 11 am. To begin with, 25 vehicles would be available as a shuttle service with a charge of Rs 50 per head," said Hridesh Kumar Sharma, director, Department of Archaeology & Museums.

After a successful trial, the vehicles would also be allowed on the rear entry gate. If it is successful, all jeeps operating from the rear entry gate of the fort would be replaced with the battery-operated vehicles. Even officials would be prohibited from taking their vehicles up to the fort. "All personal and official vehicles would have to be parked at the base of the fort and everyone will have to use the battery-operated vehicles," Sharma said.