Chandigarh to have tourism police

CHANDIGARH - With Chandigarh fast turning into a favourite of tourists, authorities of the union territory are planning to have a special tourism police with knowledge of English and some other foreign languages to help the visitors.

Chandigarh, considered as the gateway to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, got nearly one million tourists (domestic and foreign) in 2009.

The move to create a team of dedicated tourism police is to be launched in the coming weeks, said tourism director Amandeep Kaur.

“Training will be provided to selected police officials. They will be given special jackets so that tourists can identify them from a distance. This will ensure safety of tourists here and imbibe in them a feeling of confidence,” Kaur told IANS.

“The training will cover subjects like personal grooming, hygiene, motivation, leadership, stress management, tourism basics and social mannerism,” Inspector General of Police Pradeep Shrivastava said.

“They will be groomed in friendly techniques, and basics of English and some other foreign languages to assist tourists. They will guide tourists about law and order, security measures, places of medical help, matters relating to passport, visas, exchange of currency and immigration issues,” he said.

Chandigarh, designed by legendary French architect Le Corbusier in 1950s, is famous for its wide and clean roads, gardens and interesting tourist destinations in and around the city. Some of the most sought after are Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Rose Garden and Government Museum and Art Gallery.

A senior Chandigarh administration official said: “Every year we are observing a good surge in the number of tourists. Besides, we are expecting a greater influx of tourists during the Commonwealth Games.”

As per official records, the city has emerged as a favourite destination especially among foreign tourists.

In 2007, 26,567 foreign tourists visited the city and their number increased to 34,762 in 2008 and 37,967 in 2009. In the first four months of 2010, nearly 15,260 foreign tourists visited Chandigarh.

However, the move to have a special tourism police is not new. It is the second attempt of the administration to launch tourism police after a failed endeavour in September 2008.

The tourism police was launched with much pomp and show on World Tourism Day Sep 27, 2008, but it was dissolved after a few weeks. The first setback came only hours after its launch when a German woman was abducted from an upscale hotel here and raped Sep 28.

Explaining why it failed the first time, an official said: “It (the earlier move) was marred by procedural hassles and functional handicaps. This time we have taken care of all those things and outlined effective measures to make the force play a purposeful role and promote safe tourism.”

“This time we are sure the move would be successful and help in promoting tourism in Chandigarh,” he said.