With safety measures in place, city monuments reopen for tourists

With the state government easing lockdown restrictions and allowing most of the commercial activities to begin, life seems to be moving towards normalcy. On Wednesday, the city’s historic monuments were also reopened by the state government.

Major tourist attractions, including Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Amber Fort, Nahargarh Fort and Albert Hall, reopened their doors for visitors on Wednesday.Though there were very few tourists on day one, it still came as a big relief to those associated with the tourism industry. These monuments were closed since mid-April as the city witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Prakash Chandra Sharma, director, department of Archaeology and Museums, informs, “As the number of cases has reduced, we have decided to open historical monuments for tourists. This will give a boost to the economy. Like any other industry, the tourism industry, which plays a significant role in our economy, has been hit hard. For the resumption of economic activities, we need to get out of the lockdown and resume our jobs. Successful unlocking requires a lot of precautions, rules and regulations to be followed, including masks, social distancing, use of sanitisers, etc. We have already issued SOPs to all the concerned superintendents to take necessary steps to open the monuments.” The light and sound show at Amber Fort, Albert Hall and night tourism will remain closed for now. A separate notification will be issued in this regard.

GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT
· As per the notification, all the monuments will remain open from Monday from 9 am to 3 pm
· They will remain closed during the weekend curfew
· Online ticketing to be encouraged as much as possible
· Fumigation and sanitisation of the premises before opening and closing of the monuments
· Thermal screening and sanitising of staff, officials, guides and tourists at the entrance
· No entry without mask
· Not more than five to six people will be allowed entry at a time. The next group will be allowed after a gap of at least five minutes
· Guards to ensure that everyone follows social distancing norms inside the premises
· Housekeeping staff will report in shifts
· Tourists will have to stand in specially drawn circles at the ticket window to follow social distancing
· Night tourism and light and sound show will remain shut till further notice
· Elephant rides will be operational with 50% capacity on rotation basis. Per elephant, not more than two tourists will be allow