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‘Tourists falling prey to thieves at Taj’

LUCKNOW: Incidents of purse snatching and robbery of foreign tourists at the historic Taj Mahal in Agra figured in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Friday with concern being expressed by members over lax security at the famed monument of love.

The issue was brought to the notice of the House during Zero Hour by Dharampal Singh of Jan Morcha, who narrated at least five incidents of foreign tourists being robbed of their money inside the Taj complex in February.

In one instance, Mr. Singh said, the purse of a tourist containing about 36,000 dollars was snatched by an unidentified person who managed to flee the complex despite the presence of Central Industrial Security Force and UP Police check-posts within 50 metres of the monument.

He said another tourist was robbed recently by an unidentified miscreant at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Incidents of kidnapping were also on the rise in the city of the Taj, he added.

The Jan Morcha MLA said security at the Taj was maintained by the CISF but there was lack of coordination between the industrial force and the local police. He also drew the attention of the House to the threat posed to the monument by terror organizations. Mr. Singh urged the Speaker, Sukhdev Rajbhar, to ensure that security is upgraded at the Taj.

Affirming that the Taj was a heritage monument, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma assured the House that steps would be taken to strengthen security.

Lalji Tandon of the BJP brought up the issue of rampant use of polythene bags, which he said posed a serious health and environmental hazard. “Use of polythene bags had been curtailed but there has been no control over their use,” he added.

Pramod Tiwari (Congress) said a law had been passed allowing use of polythene bags of a specific weight. The practice of burying the used bags underground led to water-logging as it choked the drainage system, he added.

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