PATNA: State tourism minister Pramod Kumar refuses to form a tourist protection force in Bihar, a proposal which was mooted by his predecessor from the BJP, Sunil Kumar Pintu, in 2010.
Pramod said Bihar Police are sufficient to look after security of tourists even as incidents of attack on tourists in the state has increased lately. A group of tourists from Chhattisgarh were thrashed by tongawalas at Rajgir on Thursday. A British couple rafting from Haridwar to Kolkata was attacked by locals at Pandarak, 80km from Patna, on the night of November 5.
Moreover, more than three lakh Sikh pilgrims are expected to descend on the state capital from December 15 for the concluding ceremony of Prakashotsava, the 351st birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
"There is no proposal as such for creation of tourist protection force. I think Bihar Police are sufficient to look after the security of tourists. As far as Rajgir incident is concerned, it was a minor scuffle between the tourists and tongawalas, which should not be highlighted in a negative manner," Pramod told TOI.
As per original plans for tourist protection force, Patna, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Kesaria were selected for deploying tourism protection force personnel in the first phase.
As per initial plans, each of the selected tourist spots in the chosen districts were proposed to have five to 10 tourism protection force personnel. The major task of the force envisaged was to take tourists to the local police station, help them in case they misplace their documents like passport and visa and guard them from touts.
Such force has already been constituted in Goa and Uttar Pradesh whereas Kochi in Kerala became the first city in the country to have a tourist specific police station in 2010.
Tour operators in Bihar claim that tourists are at times troubled by touts, squatters and vendors due to lack of any dedicated force. "It is high time tourist protection force was constituted in Bihar considering the heavy footfalls, especially Buddhist pilgrims. It is utmost important that the dedicated tourist protection force should be trained in handling tourists," said Arun Kumar Ojha, a travel consultant based at Bodh Gaya.
Pramod said Bihar Police are sufficient to look after security of tourists even as incidents of attack on tourists in the state has increased lately. A group of tourists from Chhattisgarh were thrashed by tongawalas at Rajgir on Thursday. A British couple rafting from Haridwar to Kolkata was attacked by locals at Pandarak, 80km from Patna, on the night of November 5.
Moreover, more than three lakh Sikh pilgrims are expected to descend on the state capital from December 15 for the concluding ceremony of Prakashotsava, the 351st birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
"There is no proposal as such for creation of tourist protection force. I think Bihar Police are sufficient to look after the security of tourists. As far as Rajgir incident is concerned, it was a minor scuffle between the tourists and tongawalas, which should not be highlighted in a negative manner," Pramod told TOI.
As per original plans for tourist protection force, Patna, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Kesaria were selected for deploying tourism protection force personnel in the first phase.
As per initial plans, each of the selected tourist spots in the chosen districts were proposed to have five to 10 tourism protection force personnel. The major task of the force envisaged was to take tourists to the local police station, help them in case they misplace their documents like passport and visa and guard them from touts.
Such force has already been constituted in Goa and Uttar Pradesh whereas Kochi in Kerala became the first city in the country to have a tourist specific police station in 2010.
Tour operators in Bihar claim that tourists are at times troubled by touts, squatters and vendors due to lack of any dedicated force. "It is high time tourist protection force was constituted in Bihar considering the heavy footfalls, especially Buddhist pilgrims. It is utmost important that the dedicated tourist protection force should be trained in handling tourists," said Arun Kumar Ojha, a travel consultant based at Bodh Gaya.
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