Tourists locked out of Konark Sun Temple due to protest by locals

Tourists to the Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO Heritage site, were locked out and had to return disappointed because of agitation by locals over the increase in entry fees. The locals had made the temple off limits to thousands of tourists when a group of locals locked the monument's main gate to protest the recent hike in the prices of entry ticket.
This 13th century Sun Temple witnesses footfall of at least 5,000 tourists on any given day which increases to nearly double in peak seasons. Konark is a seaside location and attracts maximum tourists due to its close proximity to Bhubaneswar and Puri.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 May 2016.

It seems on April 2 the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had increased the entry fee to Konark temple from Rs 10 to Rs 30 for tourists from across India, the SAARC nations and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries. The price was doubled to Rs 500 for tourists from other countries.
Tourists and travel professionals have sought immediate intervention of the state government to resolve the crisis and the tour operators and travel agencies have urged the tourism department to discuss the matter with the top officials of the ASI.
An entry fee at the Sun Temple in Konark was first imposed in 1996 and was last revised in 2000 to Rs 10 for Indians and Rs 250 for foreigners.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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