Authorities to introduce online ticket facility for forts
Unregulated visitor presence at forts posing risk to tourist safety especially during weekends, monsoon and festivals have also raised concerns about carrying capacity of the historic structures
To promote tourism and gather data on visitor footfall to determine carrying capacity of forts, authorities are planning to launch online entry ticket system in Pune district, said a senior tourism department official.
Unregulated visitor presence at forts posing risk to tourist safety especially during weekends, monsoon and festivals have also raised concerns about carrying capacity of the historic structures. The state government has recently declared a new tourism policy giving priority to restoration and maintenance of monuments.
As the responsibility of forts lies with multiple stakeholders, including archaeological and forest departments, the tourism department needs collective base data of visitor footfall at every fort, for which the online entry ticket system is being considered.
Shama Pawar, deputy director, directorate of tourism, said, “To prepare a tourism management plan for forts, we require the base data of how many people visit the fort, time of entry and other details. The online system may help us to get the data. However, the system can be implemented by the designated authority only and hence we can only direct them. The initiative will also help in preserving the historical heritage. Kaas Plateau in Satara district is the best example.”
Vilas Wahane, assistant director, state archaeology department, Pune, said, “It is necessary to implement this system to preserve forts. We have collected carrying capacity details of six forts and site management plan has been prepared. Accordingly, Sinhagad has a capacity of 400 vehicles at a time and Rajgad 2,000 visitors. Currently, we are focused on the UNESCO committee visit. The plan of e-ticketing system will be taken on priority soon.”
The authorities are also working on a plastic-free fort initiative currently implemented on Shivneri Fort on an experimental basis to be extended to other forts soon, said officials.