Royal couple to visit Taj: Hotels to take extra precautions

Agra: As Taj city of Agra is gearing up to welcome the Royal couple William and Kate on April 16, the Hotel owners in this top tourist destination, as a security exercise, have decided not to give rooms to tourists from terror-affected countries like Pakistan, Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Though this is not an official drill but the hotel owners are well advised to take utmost precaution in order to avoid any intricacy in view of VVIP visit, a hotel manager on the condition of anonymity told newztrack.com.

What Local Intelligence Unit(LIU) has to say

• The superintendent of Police (LIU) Satyam said that there was no official communication to the Hotels in this regard.
• The Hotel owners are alert enough to deny rooms from tourists from these countries on the pretext of occupancy.

Stringent Security Measures

• The strict security arrangements have been made as per the advisory of External Affairs and Union Home department in view of Royal visit, according to SP(protocol) Vidya Sagar Mishra.
• The Hotel owners have not been told anything specific but to keep copies of passport,visa and other tourist documents of foreign nationals with them to be furnished as and when asked.

View of Hotel Businessmen

• Ramesh Wadhwa , the president of Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said ''we are not refusing rooms to any torusits but following all the formalities required in view of VVIP visit.
• Anything suspicious would immediately be informed to the police, he added.
• Rajiv Tiwari, president of 'Paryatan Mitra', was of the view that some balance had to be maintained with discussions with the security agencies.
• ''We have to ensure that tourists are not harassed because it will adversely impact the tourist business. At the same time, the security concerns have also to be taken care of,'' he says.
• Should ensure that Agra ,one of the top foreign exchange earners in the country, remains a tourist-friendly city as well.