The Minister said they were initially planning to cover the coastal districts under the tourism police scheme. The soft skills training will be conducted by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).
Now when you spot a scenic location while touring Maharaahtra and are excited to capture it in a selfie, be prepared to spot cops there. The Maharashtra state has decided to deploy tourism police at these spot, who will ensure that no untoward incidents happen.
"The tourist police will be given proper language training so that they could communicate with the touritist and help them in dire situations," said minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar.
The Minister said they were initially planning to cover the coastal districts under the tourism police scheme. The soft skills training will be conducted by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).
"The police are otherwise burdened with law and order duties. Hence, it is necessary to have designated tourism police," said Ashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC.
Rathod said that they were seeking that this force be deployed at sites like Bandra Bandstand, Marine Drive, Hanging Gardens, Juhu Chowpaty and on the ramparts of forts like Raigad where accidents took place when people were clicking selfies. This will also be done in areas where tourists are vulnerable.
"The tourism police will also create awareness among tourists (against such risky behavior)," said Rathod.
This follows concerns over instances of people losing their lives while being engrossed in framing themselves for posterity in selfies. In May, Meenakshi Priya Rajesh (21), an engineering student from Tamil Nadu slipped and drowned at Bandra Bandstand while taking a selfie. In May 2016, Tarannum Ansari (18) was swept into the sea at Bandra while clicking a selfie with her friends and in June this year, a similar selfie with her friends went horribly wrong for 17-year-old Priti Pise dragged into the raging waters at Marine Drive.
At present, the tourism police have been deployed in Mumbai at sites like Girgaon Chowpatty and the Juhu beach.
"We will also give these tourism police vehicles that can run on sand," said Kesarkar, adding that these personnel would co-ordinate with lifeguards to prevent drowning related deaths on Maharashtra's beaches. He said they were eager to launch a pilot project in Sindhudurg district.
"The tourism police are needed as often, domestic and foreign tourists are targets of crime, cheating and harassment. They can also help and extend legal aid to them," said another MTDC official, pointing to how Agra had a tourism police station for those who visited the town to see the Taj Mahal.
The official noted that at times, women tourists faced harassment and there were instances of foreigners being misguided or cheated.
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