Edition: International
Monday 28 July, 2025
BREAKING NEWS

Three Terrorists Killed in Gunfight in Srinagar District, Identification Process Underway

  • News
    • Kochi
    • Trivandrum
    • Kozhikode
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • E24hrs
    • Cinema
    • Directors
    • Actors
  • Education
    • Career
  • Automobile
  • Personalities
    • Political Leaders
  • Religion
    • Christian
      • Catholic
      • Latin Catholic
      • Syro Malabar
    • Hindu
    • Islam
  • Environment
  • More
    • Food
    • Wellness
    • Lifestyle
    • Beauty & Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Mental Health
    • Yoga
    • Video
  • മലയാളം
BREAKING NEWS
100Days: Thirike, Neestream and Gopi Make their Way into the India Book of Records
Welham Girls’ School Unveils New Museum Celebrating Rich Heritage
Interio Simplifies Home Buying with Ready-to-Furnish Flat Solutions
SC Stays Calcutta HC Order Pausing New OBC List in Bengal
Three Terrorists Killed in Gunfight in Srinagar District, Identification Process Underway
Technopark, India’s First IT Park, Turns 35
    • News
      • Kochi
      • Trivandrum
      • Kozhikode
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Health
    • Entertainment
      • E24hrs
      • Cinema
      • Directors
      • Actors
    • Education
      • Career
    • Automobile
    • Personalities
      • Political Leaders
    • Religion
      • Christian
        • Catholic
        • Latin Catholic
        • Syro Malabar
      • Hindu
      • Islam
    • Environment
    • More
      • Food
      • Wellness
      • Lifestyle
      • Beauty & Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Mental Health
      • Yoga
      • Video
    • മലയാളം
  • Nation
  • As Lockdown Disrupts Tourism, Hundreds of Guides Sit Idle at Home

    By NE Reporter on May 5, 2020

    AGRA:
    With the nationwide lockdown adversely affecting different sections of society financially, around 3,500 men and women acting as guides at different tourist places and spots in the region too have not remained untouched.

    With no financial backing from their association for such exigencies, they are all at sea as to what the future holds for them. They claimed that they wrote to different authorities but got no response. Unesco World Heritage Monuments include the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Humayun”t tomb and Qutub Minar in Delhi and Mahabalipuram etc. In the second category, there are monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India like the tomb of I”timad-ud-Daulah in the city and Sikandra near Agra.

    These monuments have been closed since March 17, even before the nationwide lockdown was announced amid coronavirus fears.Agra Approved Guides Association President Sanjay Sharma said that while all sectors of the economy had been hit by coronavirus pandemic, the tourism sector and those associated with it directly or indirectly too had been hit hard and left in the lurch.

    “The tourism sector and guides have been hit hard because the work is seasonal and tourists make bookings in advance,” he pointed out.

    Normally, the tourist season in this part of India is from October till March. A tourist guide charges Rs 2,000 for showing tourists around the Taj, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. Sharma said that tourists were not willing to venture out of their homes at present due to coronavirus fears, adding that tourism sector will remain affected till April 2021.

    The tourism situation will normalise only in September or October next year, he added. He said that the Ministry of Tourism and Culture issues licences to regional guides, which number from 3,500 to 4,000. Out of these, 469 are in Agra alone.

    He said that the tourism season lasted only six months in a year and that licensed guides could not take up any other livelihood in the remaining period as they were bound by the terms and conditions set by the licensing authorities. Sharma said that the guides nowadays were a depressed lot due to lost livelihood. He said that guides neither had any pension plans nor any exigency funds for such crisis.

    He said that letters had been written to the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister, NITI Aayog and the Tourism Ministry on the plight of guides, but there was no response. Amir, a member of the Approved Guides Association here, said that tourism guides operated as freelancers and did not get fixed salaries or perks or even pensions. “The Taj Mahal is closed to tourists. If we don”t get tourists, we won”t be cooking food in our houses,” he remarked.

    Amir said that the association funds were used in case of any medical emergency of a member or to deal with a court case etc. On the other hand, tour operators were advising tourists who had booked their visits in advance not to cancel the same but postpone.

     

    Iscea

    NE Reporter

    Agra FortArchaeological Surveycoronavirus pandemicFatehpur Sikrifinancial bankingGuidesHumayun TomblockdownMahabalipurammedical emergencyMinistry of TourismNITI AyogQutab MinarTaj Mahaltour operatorsTourismtourism seasonTourism SectorUnesco World Heritsge

    more recommended stories

    • SC Stays Calcutta HC Order Pausing New OBC List in Bengal

      NEW DELHI:The Supreme Court on Monday.

    • Fake Embassy of Fictional Nations Busted in Ghaziabad; Luxury Cars, Diplomatic Gear Seized

      GHAZIABAD:In a startling revelation, the Noida.

    • Dharmasthala Mass Grave Case: SC Refuses to Entertain Plea Challenging Media Gag Order

      BENGALURU:The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused.

    • SC Orders IPS Officer to Apologise to Former Husband for False Cases, Cancels all Proceedings

      NEW DELHI:The Supreme Court has directed.

    • Chanda Kochhar Found Guilty in Rs 64 Crore Bribery Case Linked to Videocon Loan

      NEW DELHI:In a significant development in.

    • Cybercrime 2.0: Evolving Ransomware Calls for Urgent Cybersecurity Action

      BANGALORE:As the global threat landscape shifts,.

    • ED Raids 14 Locations Linked to Chhangur Baba in Religious Conversion Racket Probe

      LUCKNOW:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday.

    • Indian Army Rescues Pilgrims Stranded on Amarnath Yatra Route In Kashmir

      NEW DELHI:Demonstrating its unwavering commitment to.

    • Operation Kalnemi: Over 300 Fake ‘Babas’ Nabbed in Uttarakhand

      HALDWANI:In a sweeping crackdown on imposters.

    • Shubhanshu Shukla, Ax-4 Crew-Carrying Dragon Spacecraft on Track, to Splashdown Today: Spacex

      NEW DELHI:The Dragon spacecraft carrying IAF.

    Live Updates

    • Welham Girls’ School Unveils New Museum Celebrating Rich Heritage
    • Interio Simplifies Home Buying with Ready-to-Furnish Flat Solutions
    • SC Stays Calcutta HC Order Pausing New OBC List in Bengal
    • Three Terrorists Killed in Gunfight in Srinagar District, Identification Process Underway
    • Technopark, India’s First IT Park, Turns 35

    NewsExperts.in

    • മലയാളം
    • മലയാളം

    What’s New ?

    • Welham Girls’ School Unveils New Museum Celebrating Rich Heritage
    • Interio Simplifies Home Buying with Ready-to-Furnish Flat Solutions
    • SC Stays Calcutta HC Order Pausing New OBC List in Bengal
    • Three Terrorists Killed in Gunfight in Srinagar District, Identification Process Underway
    • Technopark, India’s First IT Park, Turns 35

    Newsexperts.in - powered by Klickevents Infosolutions (P) LTD