VIJAYAPURA: The move by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to hike the entry fee for morning walkers at the world-famous Gol Gumbaz by over 100-fold has not gone down well with the residents of Vijayapura.
Miffed at the increase in the entry passes from Rs 35 a year to Rs 3,600, the residents on Sunday staged a protest against the ASI and took out a morning walk rally. The ASI implemented the new entry price for all heritage monuments under its control across India from June 1. Everyday, at least 500 residents of the city, including families, come to the heritage site for their morning walk. Before entering the main gates, the morning walkers have to show their entry passes to the security guards.
On Saturday, ASI officials asked all visitors to get new passes by the end of this month if they want to continue taking morning walks on the premises of the monument. The ASI has also mandated that morning walkers should mandatorily submit a police certificate showing that they were not facing any type of criminal charges. However, it is the new entry fee rule that has irked morning walkers the most.
Residents have knocked on the doors of legislators and ASI officials to revise the hike.
Speaking to TNIE, Nagaraj H, a businessman and a Vijayapura resident, strongly opposed the drastic hike in the entry fee.“We don’t come here to conduct commercial business, waste time, or damage the monument. We walk here with pride and to keep our body fit.The authorities should be people-friendly and not try to benefit out of this,” he said.