Telangana mulling law to prevent touting

HYDERABAD: Telangana police have started consultations on the proposed anti-touting law on par with the one in place in Delhi and a few other states by making touting a punishable offence, including six-month imprisonment. As part of the exercise, police have carried out discussions with RGI Airport representatives a few days ago. The proposed law would make touting illegal at tourist places, railway stations, bus stations and other locations, where touts chase visitors and offer various services.
As of now, consultations were being held with different stakeholders by discussing the best practices in the laws framed in different states.
Touting has been a major problem at the RGI Airport and Cyberabad police regularly conduct drives against taxi touts. Presently, police have been carrying out enforcement against the touting taxi drivers at the airport by detaining them for some time and later releasing them after levying fines for different traffic violations.
“The touts at the airport are getting away by paying fines. They continue to operate from the premises and harass the passengers. Except booking them for different traffic violations, we are unable to get the desired results of keeping the touts away. Discussion on Anti-Touting Act is under progress to make it a punishable offence by sending the touts to jail,’’ a senior Telangana police official said.
Police would have to send a proposal to the home department and later to the law department for legal vetting before finally seeking the nod of the Telangana Assembly, police had
Under the Delhi Prevention of Touting and Malpractices Against Tourists Act, 2010, touting is defined as: “Who ever loiters around airport, railway stations, bus stands, markets or other places frequented by tourists with the intention of offering any unsolicited service and exhibits such conduct so as to show such intention (like following, arguing, communicating or otherwise drawing attention of tourists through words or gestures or placards or pamphlets thereby causing obstruction or annoyance to tourists or general public) and otherwise has no reasonable explanation for frequenting the said place will be deemed to have committed the act of touting’’.