Day 1: ASI protected sites get lukewarm response

Merely 1-4% footfall recorded at six popular monuments on Day 1 of Unlock. 2.0; Qutub Minar records highest number of tourists.
Children enjoy at Humayun’s Tomb as ASI reopens its tourists sites during the Unlock 2.0 in New Delhi | Parveen Negi
Children enjoy at Humayun’s Tomb as ASI reopens its tourists sites during the Unlock 2.0 in New Delhi | Parveen Negi

NEW DELHI: Prominent heritage buildings or monuments in the national capital received abysmally less visitors on the first day of their reopening. Merely 1-4 % footfall was recorded at six popular Archeological Survey of India (ASI) protected sites on Monday. Their doors were shut for the visitors on March 17 to thwart possible health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The footfall at 12th-century brick minaret — Qutub Minar — was highest among all.

According to the survey officials, on Monday at least 100 visitors had come to visit Qutub Minar, one of the oldest heritage structures in Delhi. They said that all major sites had been reopened except Red Fort as it is closed on Mondays for visitors.

“Around 70-80 visitors had booked ticket for Humayun’s tomb and only 20-22 people visited Purana Quila. The footfall was extremely low at Jantar Mantar and Safdarjung's Tomb too. Almost all of the visitors were locals,” said officials.

Red Fort, Qutub Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb are among the most visited sites in the city as they receive approximately 10,000 visitors every day. In Delhi, there are about 170 historical structures with the ASI and only 13 such as Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, Safdarjung's Tomb, Purana Quila, and Hauz Khas have paid entry.

The officials are of the opinion that sightseers must be avoiding heritage sites and ancient buildings because it has been made mandatory to furnish names and other details  — to track them in case one is found suffering from coronavirus later —  for the visit.

 “At a few of our monuments, largely ‘couples’ come. As we are jotting down names, addresses, and phone numbers of the visitors; this may be one of the reasons behind a smaller number of visitors. However, we are hoping for gradual increase in footfall soon,” said another ASI official.  According to the standard operating procedure (SoP) for reopening of the sites, entry tickets are only being sold online and there is a cap on the number of visitors. Only 3,000-2,000 visitors are allowed in two batches —1,000 or 1,500 in each slot every day at selected sites.

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