JOIN USThe Centre earmarked a fund of Rs 350 crore for the construction of boundary walls and toilets at all monuments which are under protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma announced on Thursday.
The funds will also be spent on making all the monuments accessible to differently-abled tourists with provision of wheelchairs, construction of ramps and other amenities, he said.
“There are monuments that do not have boundary walls, toilet facility as well as wheelchairs and other amenities for “divyang” (disabled) tourists. The funds allocated will be spent on these facilities,” he said.
Briefing the media on the initiatives taken by the ministry to maintain cleanliness at various tourist sites, Sharma said that a total ban on the use of polythene bags was imposed within a radius of 100 metres at all 3,680 ASI-protected monuments on October 2.
*Tourism Ministry secretary Vinod Zutsi issued an advisory to all the state governments and union territory administrations, urging them to help extend the polythene-free initiative to 300 metre-radius of monuments as the area beyond the 100-metre radius falls within their jurisdiction.
*An official said the Centre will review the response of the state governments and union territories to the request for restricting the use of polythene bags around ASI-protected monuments