Officials in the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation have come across a number of private operators, agencies and institutions have rented out tents that belong to the UPSTDC for the 2013 Mahakumbh. The transactions have been made through certain unauthorised websites which have been identified by the Kumbh Mela office in Allahabad.
It may be noted that tourism corporation raises some 45 luxury cottages inside the Kumbh Mela site, which are like a hotel room on the banks of the river. It is also building 345 Swiss cottages (suite comprising drawing and bed room and properly constructed and tiled toilets) along the road to Sangam.
Director general tourism, Manoj Singh said, "We have sounded an alert, while the mela officer has asked the inspector general Allahabad zone to examine the matter and register a case against the people or organisations behind these websites." Mela officer, Mani Mishra said that the way in which these websites have packaged their deals could lure anyone. For instance, one the website promises to provide a luxurious stay inside the Swiss cottages. "But the fact is that they have no right to rent cottages inside or along the mela premises. What they are doing amounts to forgery prima facie," Mishra said.
In a letter to police officials in Allahabad, the mela officials informed that the mela administration has been providing free accommodation to pilgrims inside the mela kshetra (mela premises) during the mela period. The tradition has been continued even this year as per a TOI report.
For tourists, land is allocated to the UP tourism development corporation, which builds cottages and provides them at reasonable rates to the visitors. Bookings of these cottages are solely in the hands of the state tourism department. The district administration has no plans to allocate any other chunk of land for building cottages to any other people or government or non government organisation.
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