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of photographers who were license holders and allowed to enter the Taj, but due to several litigations the rule was withdrawn.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 In 2012, the ASI had withdrawn the license rule for photographers, but it remained applicable for guides and hawkers.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

Some more interesting links -

Prince Harry joins Coldplay on the stage in Kensington Palace in aid of charity

Beijing is sinking by 11cm per year due to over consumption of ground water

West Bengal government to install swings, see-saws and slides in schools to check dropouts


Moody embraces yoga, his medics could embrace poverty (satire)

Didi wants to promote small scale industries (satire)

Lord Shiva bamboozled by the storylines of TV serials (satire)


ISIS trying to enter India - 11 youths apprehended in Hyderabad

Gunmen strike a restaurant in Dhaka - 20 killed in the attack

36 killed and more than 147 injured in Ataturk airport suicide attack in Istanbul


Katy Perry creates microblogging history with over 90-million followers on Twitter

Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto and Michelle Obama in Morocco to promote education among girls

Kavita Kaushik to play the role of an Army doctor in TV show “Dr. Bhanumati on Duty”

World Heritage Site Hampi loses out on tourists due to severe heat

World Heritage Site Hampi is losing out on tourist inflow due to the severe heat that has reached reaches 40 degree celsius in many places. Its Utsav had been cancelled in the wake of the drought and series of elections this year and these have affected the arrival of tourists for the past three months. With rising temperatures, many foreign and Indian tourists are shying away from visiting Hampi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 21 April 2016.

It is understood that the number of visitors drastically decreased on weekdays after Sankranti and, some techies from Bengaluru, Pune and other cities arrive on weekends. They visit temples in the morning and then stay in their rooms due to the heat. As to Indians, they are visible on weekdays only at Virupaskhweshwar Temple - their purpose is to attend marriage ceremonies of relatives or friends.
Moreover, the hike in entry fee at Lotus Mahal, Virupakshweshwar and Vijay Vitthal Temples is another reason for the fall in numbers. The Archaeological Survey of India has hiked the entry fee from April 1. Foreign tourists have to now pay Rs 500 and Indians Rs 30. Foreign tourists, who once used to be seen in thousands in and around Hampi, are negligible now. It seems many of them changing their itineraries due to the weather. Like Goa - many tourists stay back in Goa and enjoy the cool sea breeze instead of coming to the scorching Hampi.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Didi wants to move around fast and wants a solution (satire)

Lord Shiva intrigued by the writing on the walls (satire)

Moody hates hotels and feels more at home in his aircraft (satire)


Taj Mumbai welcomes Prince William and Kate, the fourth generation of British monarchy

Huge 26ft python found in Penang - could become a new a Guinness Record holder

Lok Sabha ethics committee probing Narada sting feels the videos are genuine


ISIS still holding 30 workers out of 300 kidnapped from cement factory in Dumeir

Another Bangladeshi blogger killed in Dhaka because of his views on religion

Florida hunters bag a 15-foot 800-pound massive alligator


James Cameron, writer director of Avatar, promises his fans four sequels

'Deadpool' sequel planned and in the pipeline with Ryan Reynolds

Indonesian pop star dies after being bitten by a cobra on stage