AGRA SOS TO POLICE: SAVE TOURISTS FROM TOUTS | AGRA NEWS

2\07\2010 AGRA NEWS
The city with three world heritage monuments is plagued with menace of touts.To tackle the growing number of touts around the monuments, the Agra office of tourism department has urged the Agra division commissioner Sudhir M.Bobde to intervene in the mater and free the the monuments of the touts.
The commissioner has now directed the agra police to take up the issue and has written to Deepesh Juneja ,deputy inspector general , agra  |
The DIG now plans to lodge a campaign to check the menace of these touts. The police also planning to ramove the encroachments near the monuments.
The campaign will also help smoothen the movement of the large number of tourists expected to visit the city during the Commonwealth Games.
Juneja said," Letter has been received from commissioner agra Division and action is to be initiated against these touts operative around monuments. This had been otherwise, a regular exercise and action continues to place a check on these touts. However ,a little laxity helps these miscreants get away and that is what we would address within a week time or so Beside this we have also to focus on encroachments at gates of monuments and mainly Taj Mahal."
The problem of touts is nothing new for this tourist city. The touts are mostly youths who hang around near the monuments ,railway station, bus stands and others spots frequently visited by the tourists.
They are either found pressuring tourists into buying goods that they sell or coerce them into visiting a specific shop, emporium or hotel.
The tourists are a harried lat as they find it difficult to refuse the touts because of the language barrier.
Even the policemen posted at the monuments are accused of turning a blind eye towards these touts.To avoid unruly scenes , even the guides accompanying the tourists avoid a direct confrontation with the touts.
Earlier,a special police team - Tourist police- had been formed to help the tourists but it too had limited powers.
The Tourist police is supposed to hand over such nuisance makers to local police who are accused of letting off the touts lightly.As a result, the touts soon return to their old business . This has resulted in the tourist police becoming a 'toothless' force.
Moreover, the situation is worse in Fatehpur Sikri, a township 40 Km from city where these touts work as an 'organised' crime ring and are allegedly backed by the 'forces' there.



source - HT