Prayagraj Mela Authority puts up boat price boards in Sangam area
Now, the tourists coming to Sangam will not have to worry about being charged hefty rates for hiring boats from private boatmen
Now, the tourists coming to Sangam will not have to worry about being charged hefty rates for hiring boats from private boatmen.
The Prayagraj Mela Authority has started the work of putting up rate boards at various places around Sangam specifying the charges of the boats for hire. The fare of a boat to travel from Qila Ghat to Sangam has been fixed at ₹60, informed Sant Kumar, OSD, Prayagraj Mela Authority.
In the next phase, the plan is to now also introduce a token system for these boats, he added.
Though the boatmen’s union has not objected to the rate boards being put up but has expressed opposition to the token system being planned for the hiring of the boats.
The boatmen’s union on Wednesday lodged a protest against it by submitting a memorandum to the district administration. It argued that if the tourists and visitors do not come after taking the token, then the boatmen will suffer losses. So, the token system should not be implemented. However, the association has agreed that if the boatmen charge more than the prescribed rate from tourists and pilgrims, then the Daraganj police can take action against them.
In the meeting of the Prayagraj Mela Authority held on May 5, it was decided by the officials that a token system for the hiring of boats would be implemented. After this, the officers of Prayagraj Mela Authority called a meeting of the boatmen association on May 23 and informed them about their intention.
“The members of the association had shared that around 5000 boatmen operate their boats in the entire district. If these 5000 boatmen operate strictly on the basis of tokens, then they would struggle to make a living,” informed Magan Nishad and Mahendra Nishad, both members of the association who were present in this meeting.