Aurangabad leaders demand monuments, tourist sites to remain open amid Covid-19

Aurangabad leaders demand attendance cap of 50 per cent at monuments and tourist sites in place of a complete shutdown

Leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the All India Majlis-e-Itthehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the ruling Shiv Sena on Tuesday demanded that attendance caps be placed at monuments and tourist sites in the Aurangabad region instead of shutting them amid a rise in Covid-19 cases. In a letter to Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena spokesperson Amabadas Danve called for restrictions, like an attendance cap of 50 per cent, at these sites in place of a complete shutdown, while AIMIM Lok Sabha MP Imtiaz Jaleel and BJP MLA Atul Save spoke on similar lines.

Danve said the fortunes of the tourism sector were looking up currently when the Omicron variant surfaced and placed hurdles. "We can put restrictions so that social distancing can be maintained. Many families in Aurangabad depend on tourism. If we can keep wine shops and hotels open, then there should be no problem letting people visit monuments," Save told PTI.

Jaleel tweeted that knee-jerk reactions like shutting down monuments for tourists would affect the sector immensely. If marriages can take place with attendance limits, why can't these sites be kept open with similar restrictions, he asked.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.