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| Travel agents, taxi operators irate over licensing authority | | Allege mushroom growth of fake agencies in blatant violation of norms | | Bharat B Kaul
Jammu | Oct 28
Travel Agencies and Taxi Operators Union has decided to hold a demonstration in November in Jammu to protest against authorities for allegedly issuing travel agency licenses in a large number in blatant violation of norms.
Disclosing this, President of Travel Agencies and Taxi Operators Union, Inderjeet Sharma told this scribe, “To obtain fresh registrations to run a travel agency, the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department has laid certain norms. However, these norms are being observed in violation, as can be seen from the standards the mushrooming tourism agencies are maintaining.”
Sharma claimed that around 200 new travel agencies that have come up in Jammu province recently do not adhere to the basic norms laid by the tourism department.
The norms laid by the government for obtaining fresh registration say that a travel agency should have good infrastructure, adequate parking space for vehicles and the travel agent should administer to arrange tours for tourists.
On the contrary, these travel agents run their business from small khokhas at Railway Station, BC Road and other places. Sharma alleged that such violations are allowed by the department officials as licenses to such agencies have been issued after accepting graft in huge amounts ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000.
Sharma added that the authorities have also fixed rates for the tourist passengers but some fake travel agents charge lesser fare from the passengers and provide uncomfortable and damaged vehicles resulting into bad name for the industry. “This further results in huge loss to the state exchequer,” he added. |
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