Chandni Chowk to be a tout-free zone

Tired of being hassled by touts of every kind whenever you visit Chandni Chowk?

Tired of being hassled by touts of every kind whenever you visit Chandni Chowk? Soon it might be a thing of the past, thanks to the Delhi Prevention of Touting and Malpractice against Tourist Ordinance, 2010. The Delhi Police, which earlier did not have any provision to book touts in the city, has finally started their drive to arrest them.

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Places such as Chandni Chowk are infested with touts who fleece people with a promise to help them buy sarees at best prices and offer travel packages at cheap prices among other things.

The police have started their crackdown in Chandni Chowk area and are arresting touts.

“We are using different ways to nab them like sending decoy customers and going to the makeshift offices of these men and conducting raids. We have been able to nab a number of such touts,” a senior Delhi police officer said on condition of anonymity.

He also added: “With festive season on, we want to clean up the area for locals and tourists alike. We are also giving out advisories to people to protect themselves from touts.”

The police have also increased the number of men deployed in the area.

On October 14, the police arrested and booked three men under the touting ordinance in the northern part of the city.

“The biggest problems are the touts who try to fleece people into buying sarees and other such items. We have deployed men in plain clothes as well to tackle the problem.

In the past, such touts have committed heinous crimes,” the officer said.

However, businessmen in the area feel that more needs to be done to tackle the problem.

"Nothing concrete has been done till now to tackle the problem. The police do come from time to time and arrest a few people but nothing more than that. The entire exercise is eyewash. More needs to be done as touts are the biggest menace in the area," said Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary, Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal.