Include Varanasi in list of heritage cities: Guides? Association

A DELEGATION of Government Approved Guides? Association would mount pressure on the Centre for adequate development of Varanasi for boosting tourism during three-day annual conference of the Tourist Guide Federation of India (TGFI), scheduled to be held at Aurangabad, Maharashtra, from August 28 to 30.

A DELEGATION of Government Approved Guides’ Association would mount pressure on the Centre for adequate development of Varanasi for boosting tourism during three-day annual conference of the Tourist Guide Federation of India (TGFI), scheduled to be held at Aurangabad, Maharashtra, from August 28 to 30.

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Talking to mediapersons here on Friday, president of the local Government-approved Tourist Guides’ Association, Ajay Singh and senior-most guide Tarun Kanti Basu, Ahok Verma and Shailesh Tripathi jointly stressed the need to accelerate talks with UNESCO for inclusion of Varanasi in the list of heritage cities of the world.

They opined that with declaration of Varanasi as the heritage city, the inflow of foreign tourists would increase leading to huge foreign exchange to the government exchequer.

Expressing their anguish over the administrative apathy to keep some prominent streets neat and clean, which tarnished the image of the city among the visiting foreign tourists, they have demanded the Tourism Department to adopt two prominent streets for proper sanitation and maintenance. One from Manikarnika Ghat to Vishwanant Gali via Neelkanth, near ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple, and another from Manikarnika ghat to Brahmanal. Thousands of foreign tourists walk through these dirty streets. The guides said, the government instead of improving the infrastructure for foreign tourists in Varanasi, is emphasising to increase the number of licensed guides. Travel agencies are exploiting the guides by reducing their payments of sight seeing.

The Association wants a concession of 75 per cent in train and air journey on the heels of approved travel agents along with an insurance cover of Rs five lakh by the tourism department.