Amritsar: Tourism policing hits bump

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 28

Launched with much fanfare in 2019, the tourism wing of the police has run into rough weather. From 20 cops trained in soft skills, the strength has come down to just four.

Even the plush centre of the tourism police, situated opposite of the main entrance of the Golden Temple, has been taken over by the police.

With just four in number, the tourism police deploy one of them at a time to maintain visibility. They are asked to prevent fleecing of tourists at the hands of traders, inform them about other tourist destinations, options available for transportation and assist them in redressing other problems.

Only female employee in the ranks of the tourism police was shifted few months back.

Sanjana, a young tourist from Ambala, said they did not spot any tourist police to guide them.

At the inception in 2019, an inspector-rank official headed about 20-member trained cops.

Parminder Singh Bhandal, DCP, said the staff strength was reduced before his joining the office here. “I will speak to the Police Commissioner to bring the trained staff back,” he added.