* Majority of tourists don’t know existence of special police force
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 10: It may sound unbelievable but it is a fact that Jammu and Kashmir has a Tourist Police having more than 100 personnel with specific duties to perform. However, majority of people of the State as well as tourists visiting different destinations don’t know about this special police force even 38 years after its existence because due to indifferent attitude of the successive Governments this force has failed to make its presence felt in majority of the tourist destinations of the State.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in the year 1978, a special police force called Tourist Police was created in Jammu and Kashmir and kept at the disposal of the Tourism Department for providing assistance to the tourists to prevent them from being cheated, fleeced and harassed. Moreover, Tourist Police has numerous activities to perform under the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Registration of Tourist Trade Act.
Headed by an SSP rank officer designated as Deputy Director Tourism (Enforcement), this special force has sanctioned strengthen of 107 persons deployed from the Jammu and Kashmir Police to the Tourism Department for the assistance of tourists. However, this special police force has failed to make its presence felt in majority of the tourist spots because it never received the required focus vis-à-vis the basic facilities required by its personnel in performing duties effectively.
This can be gauged from the fact that there is only one Police Station of Tourist Police situated at Srinagar to deal with the complaints of the tourists while as in rest of the State there is no such facility. Though numerous communiqués were sent to the Government for creation of at least one more Police Station specifically in Jammu, no decision has yet been taken by the concerned authorities. The latest communication in this regard was made last year, sources informed.
Moreover, the Tourist Police personnel wherever deployed don’t have the basic facilities like proper places for sitting and attending the complaints of the tourists. “It is due to this reason that there is meager deployment of Tourist Police personnel in many important places like Railway Stations, Airports and tourism spots”, sources said while disclosing that in huge Jammu Railway Station there are only 7 Tourist Police personnel while as in Jammu Airport none of the cop from this special police force has been deployed.
Likewise, at Katra, the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine, which is visited by nearly 80 lakh pilgrims every year only nine Tourist Police personnel have been deployed to check cheating, fleecing and harassment of the pilgrims, sources said, adding for Patnitop and Sanasar areas there are only four Tourist Police cops.
What to talk of inadequate Police Stations and other basic facilities, the Tourist Police has only two vehicles at its disposal. One is being used by the SSP himself while as another by SHO of Tourist Police Station, Srinagar. In the absence of vehicles, this special force is feeling handicapped in reaching the complaining tourists in time thereby defeating the objective behind its creation.
Though the Tourism Police is claiming to have been carrying out different activities as enshrined under the J&K Registration of Tourist Trade Act yet the fact remains that presence of this special police force is almost negligible in majority of the tourist destinations. Moreover, this police force was never given professional training, which otherwise is imperative for being tourist-friendly and not even single orientation programme has been conducted since the creation of Tourist Police 38 years back.
“There is a dire need to equip and give professional training to this special police force to meet the objective behind its creation especially in the light of the fact that number of tourists visiting J&K is increasing every year”, sources said, adding “at least efforts should be made to emulate the functioning of such police force in other States of the country especially which are having large number of tourist destinations”.
When contacted, SSP of the Tourist Police confirmed that this special force needs special attention keeping in view its role. “We are in dire need of one Police Station in Jammu and one vehicle in each major tourist destination”, he added.
He, however, claimed that Tourist Police was successfully carrying out different activities assigned under Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Trade Act.
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