Aurangabad, March 18:
The Corona crisis has completely shattered the tourism industry for the past two years. Now, after the end of the third wave, the industry is getting back on its feet. The government is making utmost efforts to boost the tourism scenario in the country. The trains have been started and domestic air services are being regularized. The International flights are also going to be operated soon while the visa procedures have also been eased. However, the security of the monuments remains a pending issue.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2018 had submitted a proposal to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide security at five heritage monuments in the service. These monuments included the Indian Museum in Kolkata, the Konark Sun Temple at Odisha, and three monuments in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad including Ellora caves, Bibi ka Maqbara and Daulatabad Fort. However, the proposal remained in cold storage, it seems.
CISF is already providing security at the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad, National Museum in Delhi, and Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. However, the wait for CISF security is still awaited despite conducting a technical survey for deploying this agency.
At present, A private agency SIS is providing security at the monuments. However, it has been observed that the ASI guidelines are more often breached while implementing security measures. The recruitment of the guards, their training, and their responsibilities are often questioned. The guards at the monuments are seen wandering around the tourists acting as local guides. They don’t have a check on the hawkers in the areas restricted for them. The miscreants are always seen climbing the idols for clicking photos.
The secretary of Aurangabad Tourist Guides Welfare Association Umesh Jadhav said as the tourism industry is regularizing gradually. There is a need that the security of the monuments should be given preference. The monuments, as well as the tourists coming here, should be provided utmost security, for which a centralized agency is needed. CISF takes charge, the monuments will get the security through skilled and trained security professionals.
When contacted the local CISF officers, they told that the working of the proposal is done at the senior level in the headquarters at New Delhi. The local office has not been issued any directives in this regard yet.