Agra’s tourism, trade groups to boycott Queen’s Baton

AGRA - Half a dozen tourism and travel organisations in Agra plan to boycott the welcome function for the Queen’s Baton next week ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, a representative of the protesters said Saturday.

Rajeev Tiwari, the chief spokesperson speaking on behalf of all the associations told IANS: “This is our response to the series of injustices done to Agra.”

The protesters would agitate over the attempt to deny the local industry the opportunity to showcase its level of excellence, he said.

The Federation of Travel Association, the Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Agra, the Tourist Transport Association, the Approved Guides Association, the ASI Photographers’ Association and local taxi unions will boycott the programmes being organised by the district administration to welcome the Queen’s Baton Sep 20.

“The number of tourists visiting Agra has come down steeply. We are shocked that the special (Delhi-Agra) Shatabdi Express being run for a fortnight will bring tourists to Agra in the morning and return the same evening,” he said.

“To ferry tourists around in the city, buses and taxis are being brought from Delhi. So how does the local tourism industry gain from this event. The buses from Delhi will come empty costing the exchequer more than Rs.50,000 per bus. The local buses would have charged only ten percent. It’s a huge scam,” Tiwari said.

“Even guides are being brought from Delhi. Don’t we have guides in Agra,” he asked.

In a resolution unanimously adopted at the joint meeting, the stake holders demanded among other things that the Shatabdi Express be rescheduled and it should come to Agra in the evening and leave in the morning so that tourists spend a whole day in the city and visit various monuments.

They also resolved that tourists should use local transport buses and hire local approved guides to visit the monuments.

Rakesh Chauhan, president of Agra’s hotels and restaurants association, told IANS: “After the Queen’s Baton programme we will resort to black flag demonstrations, sit-downs and burn effigies.”

Tourism Guild president Rajeev Narain told IANS: “It’s not easy to tolerate this kind of injustice. It makes no sense participating in programmes that are so discriminatory.”

Sandeep Arora, a hotel industry leader, was angry and wanted political parties to join the stir against “hijacking by Delhi lobby” all the benefits that Agra could have got from this major event.

Meanwhile, supportes of another campaign “Commonwealth Jhel” began distributing stickers and flyers to mobilise support against the Games. Black arm bands were distributed to people by the campaign activists.