BALLARI: To avoid misleading of tourists, the administration at Hampi in Ballari district has decided to provide uniforms to the registered guides. The guides will also have ID cards issued by the authorities and the new move aims to segregate the fake guides and those who dupe foreign tourists.
An official from the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) said that the project will soon be implemented.
"Once the technical works are completed we will provide uniform to the guides. The decision comes after demand by the registered guides during a meeting which was held recently. The authorities had also organised training session for the guides. The footfalls in Hampi are slowly increasing and currently about 2,000 tourists are coming to Hampi everyday," the official said.
The authorities are also mulling to provide a book on Hampi to the guides so that they carry it while taking the tourists. "The book will give additional information to the tourists who come to Hampi. The guides will also be trained to know the other nearby tourist destinations so that the information helps the tourists, especially those who are visiting from other states," the official added.
"This was a long pending demand in Hampi and also other tourist places in Karnataka that the guides must have uniform. This reduces cheating of tourists," said a registered guide from Hampi. "We had requested the authorities to provide us with uniform so that unauthorised person do not take cheat the tourists. Many times the guides who are not registered are seen either giving misinformation or cheating tourists of money," he explained.