Govt working on a law to prosecute people who harass tourists.

In a post on a website called Full Stop India, a travel expert seeks to help White women tourists deal with India during a trip to the country. Of the ten points listed, most of them emphasizing that the country can be a dreadful place to travel around unless a woman avoids Indian men like plague, one says the following: "Ask for a room near the elevator or staircase." This goes on to show how travelling in India is considered a hassle of great proportions for foreigners. While one has to say that posts such as these are slightly alarmist in their tone, incidents of sexual harassment rampant in the country probably necessitate such caution too.

Almost reading the panic in the minds of tourists, MoS Mahesh Sharma today said that he was in talks with the home ministry to come up with laws to punish touts who harass tourists. A report in The Times of India quotes Rajiv Tiwari, the President of Federation of Travel Associations of Agra as saying: "The minister is aware of hardships faced by tourists, especially women. He expressed concern and said a new law would be implemented to make harassment of tourists a crime."

The urgent meeting possibly comes on the heels of reports that tourist visits to Taj Mahal has dropped by at least 15 percent in the past year.

India Today reports:

"While 4.5 lakh tourists visited the Taj Mahal in 2012, this number went down to around 4 lakh in 2013," Tourism Minister Om Prakash Singh said in the state Assembly in a reply to a question by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Dharmpal Singh."

Bharti Singh, special executive at the state government's directorate of tourism, told The Telegraph, "The number of night stays in Agra by foreign visitors has also come down, from 4.5 lakh in 2012 to 4.03 in 2013. “We are still not aware of the reasons for this drop. We are trying to analyse the factors…. Let us hope this is temporary."

The BSP MLA had noted back then that the reports of rising crime in UP could be the reason that tourist footfall has taken a beating. Last year, shortly after the death of the Delhi gangrape victim and the passing of the antii-rape bill, a British tourist leaped out of a hotel window near Taj Mahal fearing assault by the manager. In an article published in The Times of India earlier this month, the reporter notes how touts, hotel managers, drivers etc work as an organised gang and cheat tourists in the city. The very unfortunate ones are even looted by the same people.

Sanjay Sharma, president of Approved Guides Association of Agra told the paper: "The modus operandi is very simple. They have counterparts in other cities who identify potential targets at railway stations who relay details like seats and bogey numbers to them. Once the tourist reaches Agra, the lapkas take over, posing as guides/taxi drivers and start pestering them. Often, they use ploys like free taxi ride or the promise of heavy discounts. Many tourists, taking them to be 'friendly' guides fall in their trap."

If the government's intention to make tourist harassment a criminal offence is turned into a legal reality, tourists - both domestic and foreigners - will have an effective tool against touts etc.