Taj Mahal to be freed from touts who harass foreign tourists

Till 2011 there used to be only 245 photographers who had been given licenses and allowed to enter the Taj and operate taking photographs of visitors. Today, the number is believed to be more than 3000. These are touts who double up as photographers and have become a nuisance to visitors, especially foreign tourists. The Union culture ministry wants to curb this practice.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 July 2016.

The ministry has issued a preliminary notification in May 2016 to bring photographers under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and making licenses mandatory for entering monuments. At present, anyone can do commercial photography inside the Taj Mahal by just buying a Rs 40 entry ticket.
It is expected that the move will help to exercise some form of control over the situation in not just Taj Mashal but in other monuments at other sites. Such persons run their business from the world heritage site's premises in the guise of photographers and guides and instances of cheating and harassment of tourists, especially foreigners, have become a major problem.
Up to 2011 there were a limited number of photographers who were license holders and allowed to enter the Taj, but due to several litigations the rule was withdrawn. As a result, thousands of them swarmed the monument and started commercial activities. In 2012, the ASI had withdrawn the license rule for photographers, but it remained applicable for guides and hawkers.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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