Asight that welcomes zealous explorers and local visitors eager to learn about the city’s heritage are the long queues for tickets. To eliminate this hassle and to save visitors’ time, MakeMyTrip, an online travel agency, based out of Gurugram, has signed an MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) with ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) for online bookings for 116 historical monuments and sites pan India.
Commenting on the new partnership, Deep Kalra, Founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said, “India has so much to offer in terms of its rich cultural heritage, and there is a long distance that we have to cover to showcase the best that India has to offer to the world. We are thrilled to partner with ASI to make it convenient for travellers with the ease of planning and booking their visit online to these heritage monuments. This partnership will provide a world-class e-ticket booking service to help travellers plan in advance and eliminate the hassle of standing in long queues, saving time and effort by booking online through our platform.”
Many youngsters are excited about the initiative. Like Yash Raj, a third-year student of Chinese language from JNU, who feels this will make it easier to plan his trips in and outside the city. “I came to Delhi two years ago, and I still haven’t visited Red Fort. But now, I’m going to plan a trip with my friends and
explore the city.”
Joining in the same chorus is Sharda D, 35, from Vijay Nagar, mother of two school-going children. “I want my children to learn more about our history, which will require them to visit all these places. Waiting in the queue with my children is hard, but if online booking works out well, I’ll be able to plan trips in advance and my kids will get more time to explore monuments.”
But a passerby who joins the conversation, wonders, “These places are always overcrowded and rampant with pickpockets, this initiative will make it possible to go cashless. Though how many people know how to use these pps or have the luxury to buy cell phones that support these apps?”
Not everyone is happy with this initiative as they feel the present government is consistently moving towards privatisation. *Amit (name changed on request) says, “The government has been trying to bring more and more private players into the government-run affairs.
In 2018, it gave the iconic Red Fort to Dalmia group for a period of five years in exchange of `25 crore, for which it was criticised. To involve MakeMyTrip in selling the tickets for ASI monuments is yet another move in the same direction, where the government is helping private entities make more money. A classic case of crony capitalism. Instead, it should focus on the strengthening the much beleaguered ASI.”