Assam to introduce ‘tourist police’ for security of visitors | Guwahati News – Times of India
Guwahati: The state tourism department has planned to introduce tourist police as a means to ensure the safety and security of the visitors in the state, after holidaymakers’ footfall showed a significant increase in Assam post-Covid last year.
Under this tourist police scheme, its units, tourist police stations and other necessary infrastructure will be set up as a means to ensure the safety and security of the visitors.
This scheme of ‘tourist police’ was included in the new Assam Tourism (Development and Registration) Bill, 2024, that was passed by the state assembly recently. Now there will also be a proper framework for the tourism sector and every accommodation facility will have to be registered with the tourism department, said a senior official of the tourism department.
As of now, states like Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh have introduced tourist police.
The official added, Majority of the states, have implemented the scheme, and it’s time that Assam also implements it. However, it’s in the initial stage, but it will be implemented soon. They will be inspecting the tourist places and will provide a safe and secure environment for them.
The tourist police scheme was introduced in the country in 2022, when the Union ministry of tourism issued directives to all states and Union territories (UTs) to establish dedicated tourist police units. This initiative was formulated in conjunction with the ministry of home affairs and the bureau of police research and development (BPR&D). They are collaboratively developing a framework that encompasses the creation of standard operating procedures (SOPs), the design of training programmes for tourist police personnel and recommendations for the uniform of tourist police officers.
In 2023, Assam recorded a tourist footfall of 98.31 lakh, comprising 98.12 lakh domestic and 18,946 foreign tourists. In 2022, the state saw a total of 17.03 lakh tourists, consisting of 17.02 lakh domestic and 1,231 foreign visitors. The figures were marked as the highest recorded footfall in the past decade.
The Kaziranga National Park was visited by 9,183 foreign tourists and 3,02,763 domestic tourists last year.
