Tourism Police to become functional by next month

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 28

The Amritsar Police Commissionerate is set to revive tourism police in the holy city beginning next month.

Earlier, two attempts at setting up the Tourism Police in 2002-03 and 2008-09 failed. Apparently, proper procedures and suitable staff were not absorbed for delicate job of handling tourists.

Instead of officials from the Punjab police, known for their sonorous sound, the job of the Tourism Police demanded officials who were patient listeners, docile in approach and courteous in behaviour.

For this, the Amritsar Police identified 56 men and women officials who underwent five-day orientation course at an institute in Gurdaspur. They were also trained in speaking English and Hindi to efficiently communicate with tourists. The Tourism Police project will be under ADCP Dhruman Nimbale. To easily distinguish the Tourism Police, a white colour badge with “Amritsar Tourism Police” inscribed in red and blue colour will be placed on the upper portion of arms.

As many as eight kiosks of the Amritsar Tourism Police are being installed at key places, including Golden Temple, railway station, airport, bus stand, Durgiana temple, Ranjit Avenue and the Bhandari Bridge. These kiosks will act as tourist felicitation centres, providing all information on trains and flights schedule, nearest tourist circuits, details of tourist places in and around the city and obviously registering complaints of tourists besides helping them in distress. The police have also set up a dedicated tourist helpline 1073 to register their distress calls.

The man behind reviving the defunct Tourism Police is Police Commissioner Jatinder Aulakh. Learning from past experiences and two failed attempts at setting up Tourism Police, he painstakingly chalked out a comprehensive plan to move ahead.

Many incidents of robbery, misbehaviour and sexual assaults have been reported by tourists, including foreigners. There is no denying that tourist footfall is high but a tourism-friendly atmosphere is missing.

Tourists from around the world and across the country are visiting the city, but there is no attempt at making them feel comfortable during their stay here.

A young Denmark national, who came to Amritsar regarding some research work in September 2013, was sexually assaulted. As soon as she alighted from the train and crossed the road through the footbridge to reach her hotel, an auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Vicky, sexually harassed her. Though the police arrested the accused within 12 hours, it brought a bad name to the city.

In another incident, three members of a family from Uttrakhand, comprising Kulwant Singh, his wife Rupinder Kaur and father Arjun Singh, were heading to Golden Temple to pay obeisance, when they were brutally assaulted by four residents in a road rage case last year.

Fact file

Eight kiosks of the Amritsar Tourism Police are being installed at key places, including the Golden Temple, railway station, airport, bus stand, Durgiana Temple, Ranjit Avenue and the Bhandari Bridge. These kiosks will act as tourist felicitation centres, providing all information related to trains and flight schedule, nearest tourist circuits, details of tourist places in and around the city and registering complaints of tourists besides helping them in distress. The police have also set up a dedicated tourist helpline 1073 to register their distress calls.