| As Violence Ebbs, Kashmir to Have Tourism Police | | | early times report
Srinagar, Sept 1: Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling to raise a new battalion of police force which will be tasked to deal with tourists who visit the picturesque Himalayan state in north India.
A senior tourism department official said a letter has been sent to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to either allow direct recruitment by state's tourism department or train the regular policemen to deal with tourists in a "humane way"
The chief minister has reportedly assured the department that he will look into the issue and make some arrangements soon.
"Due to scarcity of tourist police officers to deal with the visitors, we are contemplating to raise a new battalion to deal with the tourists more humanely. I believe people from fresh recruitment will be better than training the regular police," Ghulam Ahmad Mir, J&K Minister for Tourism, said.
Against the sanctioned 106 posts, the department has a present strength of 72 tourist police officers, including one Superintendent of Police. "We have around 72 officers posted in the department out of the sanctioned 106 posts. Even 106 is inadequate as new tourism destinations are coming up and the number of visitors is increasing," a senior tourism department official said. |
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