Three-hour limit for Taj visitors: No mechanism in place to enforce rule
Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018
Agra: The three-hour time slot restrictions for visitors to the Taj Mahal that kicked in from Sunday for better crowd management failed to take off on the first day, as there was no one at the entry and exit points to brief tourists or enforce the rule.
Though the validity of the tickets issued by the ASI clearly mentioned it is valid for three hours, there was no mechanism in place to enforce this.
Talking to TOI, superintendent archeologist of ASI (Agra circle) Bhuvan Vikram Singh said that the staff was asked to go soft on them as it was the first day. “The staff has been directed to be lenient and this will be continued for the next three-four days, till the word spreads around,” he said. Asked how they plan to enforce the 3-hour restriction for the visitors, Singh said random checks will be initiated till the installation of turnstile gates. Many of the tourists, both foreigners and local, told TOI they were not aware of any such restrictions.
In a public notice issued last week, ASI had decided that the entry ticket to the world heritage monument would be valid for only three hours. The move was necessitated by the surge in the number of visitors. Many times, during peak tourist season and other occasions, the number of tourists to the 17th century Mughal-era monument crosses 60,000 to 70,000. This could prove harmful for the foundations of the monument, said ASI officials.
“We’ve had situations where over 50,000 visitors come to Taj Mahal in a single day. The monument space is limited and we cannot extend that. We have to make do with the available area and manage visitors within that limited space. Sometimes it gets very difficult to manage the crowd,” said an ASI official, adding that limited-validity tickets are expected to sort it out.
STILL CHAOTIC
Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018
Agra: The three-hour time slot restrictions for visitors to the Taj Mahal that kicked in from Sunday for better crowd management failed to take off on the first day, as there was no one at the entry and exit points to brief tourists or enforce the rule.
Though the validity of the tickets issued by the ASI clearly mentioned it is valid for three hours, there was no mechanism in place to enforce this.
Talking to TOI, superintendent archeologist of ASI (Agra circle) Bhuvan Vikram Singh said that the staff was asked to go soft on them as it was the first day. “The staff has been directed to be lenient and this will be continued for the next three-four days, till the word spreads around,” he said. Asked how they plan to enforce the 3-hour restriction for the visitors, Singh said random checks will be initiated till the installation of turnstile gates. Many of the tourists, both foreigners and local, told TOI they were not aware of any such restrictions.
In a public notice issued last week, ASI had decided that the entry ticket to the world heritage monument would be valid for only three hours. The move was necessitated by the surge in the number of visitors. Many times, during peak tourist season and other occasions, the number of tourists to the 17th century Mughal-era monument crosses 60,000 to 70,000. This could prove harmful for the foundations of the monument, said ASI officials.
“We’ve had situations where over 50,000 visitors come to Taj Mahal in a single day. The monument space is limited and we cannot extend that. We have to make do with the available area and manage visitors within that limited space. Sometimes it gets very difficult to manage the crowd,” said an ASI official, adding that limited-validity tickets are expected to sort it out.
STILL CHAOTIC
No comments:
Post a Comment