Tourists face inconvenience at Ajanta Caves

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Tourists faced significant inconvenience at the Ajanta Caves, a World Heritage Site, on the National Tourism Day on Sunday. The Ajanta Caves saw a massive influx of tourists today due to consecutive holidays.

A staggering 7,000 tourists visited the caves throughout the day. However, with only 17 buses available to handle such a large crowd, the transportation system completely collapsed. Tourists had to wait in queues for hours for buses. Queues of tourists had formed in the Ajanta area from morning onwards. Many had to wait for hours for buses to reach the caves from the parking area.

Tourists were mostly seen expressing dissatisfaction instead of enjoying their visit, due to the insufficient number of buses and the large crowds. The increased number of tourists also overwhelmed the parking facilities. Tourists had to park their vehicles on the highway itself.

Box

Ajanta Caves to remain closed today

The Ajanta Caves are closed every Monday for maintenance work. So, , tourists wishing to enjoy the Republic Day holiday will have to visit other places like the Ellora Caves, Daulatabad Fort, Bibi Ka Maqbara.

Box

Ten buses regularly operate to the Ajanta Caves. The number of tourists increased suddenly on Sunday. Accordingly, additional buses were sent. Two buses were also sent from Sillod. There were a total of 17 buses.

(Manish Jawalikar, Depot Manager, Soyegaon)

Box

Increase in tourists due to consecutive holidays

Normally, about 1500 to 2000 tourists visit the Ajanta Caves daily. There was a huge crowd today because of the consecutive holidays. Over 7 K tourists visited the caves throughout the day. The Ajanta Caves are closed on Mondays.

(Manoj Pawar, Conservation Assistant, Ajanta Caves)