Hyderabad: Golconda fort is located at Ibrahim Bagh, Hyderabad, Telangana. It has a very beautiful architecture and its one of the famous historical places in India. Tourists love to visit this place. “There is a dip in visitor’s footfall after the fort is re-opened. Earlier, the fort used to witness thousands of visitors daily, but now it has fallen to around 300-400 daily,” said the officials. Also, the authorities have banned carrying food and beverages inside the fort due to COVID.
It was opened after five months of COVID Pandemic break on September 1, by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) with new rules including online ticketing.
As per sources at the time of opening, visitors facing difficulty in booking tickets due to technical issues. By seeing this as an opportunity many internet centers started booking tickets online by taking extra amounts apart from charging more on each ticket, these people are also selling duplicate online tickets multiple times. As one ticket is valid for one entry, this is causing disturbance among the shop owners and the visitors.
According to the sources, several complaints regarding the online ticketing have been lodged to the concerned officials. “The visitors who are unaware of the online process and who fail to book a ticket are visiting nearby shops for booking tickets. The official entry fare for the fort is Rs 20, but these people are charging Rs 30 to Rs 50 for each ticket and making money,” said a highly placed officer.
“Archeological Survey of India had also issued a notice among the online centers not to charge an extra amount on booking tickets for the Golconda Fort,” an officer noted. “For purchasing five tickets for his family, the online center charged Rs 150 instead of Rs 100. These people are making Rs 10 on each ticket some of them are charging even more,” said Mohammed Muneer, a visitor.