TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR STATE TOURISTS

Here’s a word of caution for the travel-loving Bengali. Fed up with the spate of disasters in the hill stations in north India, the state government has decided to issue a travel advisory.

State tourism minister Manab Mukherjee said on Saturday, “We are trying to issue a detailed guideline for tourists from Bengal – especially those who want to travel to the hilly terrain in the so-called off season. There are ways to travel safely to the hills even during the off season when people avoid the dangerous terrain.”

Mukherjee said the draft of the guidelines would be released by him at writers’ buildings next week.” But it will only help initiate dialogues between the state, the tourism agencies, the tourists and generally all stakeholders in the tourism sector. Suggestions will be sought from all concerned so that we can come up with comprehensive dos and don’ts for safe travel outside the state.”

The guidelines – which will have a list of areas which should be visited and when – will be circulated among tourists planning a trip. This follows recent incidents of several tourists from the state getting stranded in remote locations in north India hill stations and the state government getting them rescued.

Even on Friday, thanks to heavy snowfall, around 90 tourists from Bengal – mostly Kolkatans - got trapped at Kalpa in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. The tourists, including eight children and four septuagenarians, are safe, but they had to face a lot of trouble reaching the plains. There was no food; no electricity and communication lines were down.

Officials at Writers’ said some more tourists are still in the area (districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu and Chamba) from where snowfall has been reported since Thursday morning. State civil defence minister Srikumar Mukherjee said.” Tourists are often lured by discounts from some travel agencies who don’t take proper steps for their safety. An awareness campaign must be launched for these tourists. Some people are even attracted because the can travel in peace since not many people visit those areas during winter.”

The campaign is for those traveling to other states, especially to remote, hilly ones. The government would come out with guidelines on the places and timing of vacations. Last October, Debyani Chowdhury, a tourist from Bengal, had died on the way back to safety after being trapped in the snow in Kinnaur. The 51 year old resident of Konnagar in Hooghly, who was in Kalpa along with her husband died on the road after she developed respiratory trouble.

Courtsey : The Times of India