Officials instruct owners of homestays, resorts, and lodges to ensure safety of foreign visitors in Chikkamagaluru

Chikkamagaluru Police instruct homestay owners to ensure safety of foreign visitors, report their details, and prevent illegal activities.

Chikkamagaluru police have instructed the owners of homestays, resorts, and lodges to inform the police of foreign visitors and take appropriate measures for their safety at their establishments.

The owners have been asked to get permission from the local police before taking the visitors to any secluded areas as part of their outdoor events.

Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Vikram Amathe and officers of the Forest Department and Tourism Department held a meeting with owners of homestays, resorts, and lodges at zilla panchayat auditorium here on Thursday.

The meeting was convened in the wake of recent crimes reported in Hampi.

The officers instructed the owners and managers of these establishments that the safety of tourists, including foreign visitors, was paramount. They should take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the visitors. They asked the owners to inform the jurisdictional police whenever they took the visitors to a secluded place as part of the outdoor events.

The owners would be held responsible if the visitors faced any difficulty, either because of wild animals or miscreants, the officers stated.

Mr. Amathe said the resorts, homestays, and lodges should not allow any illegal activity on their property premises. The possession, consumption, and sale of narcotic drugs have been banned. The owners should put up boards cautioning the visitors against such activities. Allowing consumption of alcohol without prior permission would attract legal action, the officers warned.