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Amritsar admn tending to stranded Chinese, Swiss tourists
Two foreign tourists have been stranded in the city amid the country-wide lockdown against COVID-19 outbreak as all modes of travel remain suspended.
Two foreign tourists have been stranded in the city amid the country-wide lockdown against COVID-19 outbreak as all modes of travel remain suspended.
They have been identified as Benjamin Bitte (30) of Switzerland and Zhong Shaoming of China. They had visited various tourist destinations in the country before getting stuck in the city.
For the past week, the two have been staying in a hotel on Queen’s Road here, while the administration and police are tending to their needs. “We are making sure that they do not face any problems because they are our guests in this crisis-ridden situation,” said a hotel employee.
Assistant sub-inspector Vikram Singh, who is deployed at the hotel for their security, said that five police personnel take turns guarding the hotel round-the-clock. “Efforts are on to ensure their safe return to their respective countries,” said deputy commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon.
As per information, after finding themselves in trouble, the tourists had approached the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) seeking accommodation in the premises of the Golden Temple, but were turned away by SGPC officials citing their different lifestyle.
Zhong had landed in country on January 5. After visiting several tourist destinations, he came to Amritsar on March 23.
The hotel staff also said that they were offering them simple vegetarian Indian food and the foreigners were accepting the same in view the prevailing situation.
