The tourism department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has drawn up a plan to take certain initiatives for the safety of tourists, especially women, who will be visiting the hills during the upcoming festive season.

The measures include the introduction of a helpline, some specific guidelines for tourists, registration of service providers and preparing a set of instructions for them to follow.

Dawa Gyalpo Sherpa, chief coordinator of adventure tourism in GTA, said tourists will start flocking to the region from next week. Keeping this in mind, they made certain things mandatory to ensure safety during their trips.

“A helpline number (6296-8700-50) will be operational during the season to respond quickly to tourists in case they face any inconvenience while touring across the GTA area. All private accommodations and owners of homestays will be asked to keep the number and appraise the tourists about it. Those running such accommodations will also have to share details of the boarders with the local police,” said Sherpa.

A source in the department said the decision has been taken after the brutal rape and murder of the woman doctor in Calcutta which has led to questions on women’s safety.

The tourism department has also identified around 100 travel agents and transporters within the GTA area who are in business but are not registered with the tourism department of Bengal.

“As they are not registered with us, we had to face difficulties to trace them. I have spoken to the officials of the state tourism department and during the next couple of months, steps will be taken to get them registered,” said a source.

Recently, the Sikkim government has taken a similar initiative to get all the service providers of the tourism industry in the state. The government has also made it clear that those who do not register, will not be able to conduct business in this sector.