The Border Security Force (BSF) has decided to abandon its proposed Day Tourism Project, which it had announced to give a fillip to tourism along the Indo-Pak border.
The project was scheduled to be launched on November 10 last, but after a high-intensity bomb blast across the border in November, the BSF decided to postpone the project.
More than six months have elapsed since the project was announced, but there is no sign of the project and it appears that the BSF is no more interested in it.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Border Security Force (BSF) deputy inspector general (DIG) MF Farooqui said, “The project seems to be dumped, and we cannot say whether it will be revived in the future or not.”
Notably, buoyed by the overwhelming response to the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border, the BSF had last year propounded an idea to start day tourism.
Under the project, the BSF aimed at showing border gates, pillars and even parts of the fence to the tourists in daylight between 12 noon to 3pm.
Considering the massive footfall of tourists — around 15,000 everyday — to watch the retreat ceremony, the BSF had planned to provide the tourists with an opportunity to visit and learn about the Indo-Pak border.
The BSF also considered the border tourism as a relief from managing massive crowd at the retreat ceremony. BSF officials had claimed that the project would lessen the crowd pressure during the retreat ceremony and would also give a chance to tourists to have a glimpse of the border in the afternoon.
{{/usCountry}}The BSF also considered the border tourism as a relief from managing massive crowd at the retreat ceremony. BSF officials had claimed that the project would lessen the crowd pressure during the retreat ceremony and would also give a chance to tourists to have a glimpse of the border in the afternoon.
{{/usCountry}}However, the November blast seemed to have made the BSF reckon with the proposed project — as under the project, the tourists are supposed to move closer to the border gates and pillars, the BSF doesn’t want to take any risk after the blast last year.
Notably, immediately after the blast, the BSF had started giving a second thought to the project and delayed its launch.