VADODARA: People from\u00a0Gujarat\u00a0planning to go on the\u00a0Amarnath yatra\u00a0this year, will have to shell out more money, with the state government issuing a new guideline making it mandatory for pilgrims using tour bus operators to wear bulletproof jackets.<\/p>\n
Less than a year after a terror strike in J&K\u2019s\u00a0Anantnag\u00a0on a bus carrying pilgrims from Gujarat, the guideline also makes it mandatory for bus operators to ensure drivers\u2019 age limit isn\u2019t over 50 years. \u201cThe guideline to provide bulletproof jackets has come from the state home department. It is an advice,\u201d\u00a0RM Jadhav, transport commissioner, told TOI on Thursday.<\/p>\n
But operators say buying the jackets is an extra for them, and pilgrims. \u201cIf we don\u2019t follow the guideline, the state won\u2019t give us permit for the tour. It involves paperwork and problems for us,\u201d said a tour operator in Vadodara.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will have to ask tourists to buy their own bulletproof jackets as we can\u2019t afford it. A bulletproof jacket costs about Rs 12,000,\u201d says Siddique Gandhi, VP, Baroda Tours and Travels Association. Around 5,000-7,000 pilgrims register for the yatra from Gujarat every year. The number of unregistered yatris is nearly 35,000. Tour operators normally charge about Rs 10,000 per person, Gandhi says, adding that many tourists won\u2019t be able to shell out the extra money.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are we supposed to buy bulletproof jackets that are not usually available for civilians, in the open market?\u201d asks Hari Patel, chairman, Akhil Gujarat Tourist Vehicle Operators Federation. Bus operators are miffed that the norm is only applicable to them. \u201cPrivate taxis or passengers travelling by train or air are not covered under the new rule. We are ready to follow the provision, but the government has to be reasonable,\u201d Patel told TOI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VADODARA: People from\u00a0Gujarat\u00a0planning to go on the\u00a0Amarnath yatra\u00a0this year, will have to shell out more money, with the state government issuing a new guideline making it mandatory for pilgrims using tour bus operators to wear bulletproof jackets. Less than a year after a terror strike in J&K\u2019s\u00a0Anantnag\u00a0on a bus carrying pilgrims from Gujarat, the guideline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}