BHUBANESWAR: Two gangrapes within a fortnight at major beach destinations of Odisha have exposed gaping loopholes in safety of women tourists and travellers.
A 20-year-old girl was gang-raped by a group of youths on Gopalpur beach in front of her male friend on Monday. On June 7, three men had confined a 14-year-old girl at a beachside hotel in Puri and raped her for three days. One of the accused in the Puri case was the survivor’s friend.
The incidents have posed huge question marks on safety and security of women while pointing to lack of dedicated measures by both police and the Tourism department to address the concerns at tourist destinations.
Last year, Tourism department had announced that women guides or Mahila Paryatan Mitras will be deployed at 30 popular tourist destinations to create a safe and welcoming environment for women tourists, solo travellers, in particular. This was also announced in the Budget 2025-26. The idea was well-received but is yet to take roots. Similarly, eight tourist police cells are plagued by staff shortage.
Tourists and hoteliers, the biggest stakeholders in the sector, are concerned. Following the incident, a majority of the hotels have had inquiries from tourists on safety at Gopalpur beach. “Safety is the topmost priority when it comes to tourism. At the public beach in Gopalpur, there are some lights and patrolling but the beach stretch (where the incident took place) up to the unused eco-retreat facility has neither,” said Rituporna Chatterjee, a tourist at Gopalpur.
In fact, in the absence of adequate security at Gopalpur beach, many star hotels in the area prohibit guests from visiting the beach after 6 pm. Senior executive of a star property in Gopalpur, requesting anonymity, said this may be the first such incident in Gopalpur and feared it would affect footfall unless corrective measures are taken.
In case of Puri, what raises eyebrows is the non-adherence to security guidelines by the beachside hotel where the minor girl was gang-raped. The hotel allegedly did not have any information about the girl.
Puri-based hotelier Raj Kishore Patra said hotels which are members of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha do not provide rooms to minors who are solo visitors and have mandated production of Aadhaar or other government ID card.
Rooms are not even allotted to unmarried couples. “However, there are smaller hotels which give rooms to minors and unmarried couples on a daily or hourly basis, without checking identity. This has to be stopped immediately,” he suggested.
Secretary to the Tourism department Balwant Singh said introduction of Mahila Paryatan Mitras can be done only through a scheme and the Tourism department is working on it. “By the end of this year, the scheme should be ready,” he added.
Meanwhile, condemning the gangrape, deputy CM Pravati Parida said police have been directed to take immediate measures to prevent any such mishaps at tourist sites.