Come 2023, book online for Beating the Retreat ceremony

Amritsar: The BSF has begun online booking for people wanting to attend beating the retreat ceremony on the Attari-Wagah border with Pakistan. The facility will be available from January 1.
Border Security Force inspector general (Punjab frontier) Asif Jalal said BSF director general Pankaj Singh floated the proposal of online booking of seats for tourists, following which BSF strategised the whole procedure given the high tourist flow.
Over 30,000 tourists visit Attari every day to see the ceremony. Many of them are denied entry after the venue is packed and they have to return disappointedly. Some of the tourists are also fleeced by agents.
The ceremony is traditionally performed when fighting troops conclude their battle, sheathe their weapons, and retreat from the battlefield after sunset. “It’s a miniature of the old practice,” said Asif.
Ashok Kumar Aggarwal, senior technical director of National Informatics Center, said a website, www.attari.bsf.gov.in, has been made exclusively for booking seats at Attari which would begin from January 1, 2023.
“Initially, we have made a dedicated website. In near future, a mobile app would also be built to book online seats at Attari from anywhere in the country,” he said, adding that 50% seats would be booked online initially.
He said the applicant could give preference of seats. After submitting the request, the person would get an OTP and details of booking on mail, which would have to be shown at Attari.
Jalal said they had put a limit of booking of 12 seats by one applicant, who should also accompany others to the ceremony to avoid any misuse of the facility by agents. For security purposes, persons visiting Attari would have to submit their ID proof.