The biggest tourist attraction in Visakhapatnam is its beaches. But of late, tourists reportedly have been facing a lot of problem from stalkers and eve-teasers.
The problem has gone to such an extent that many tourists have vowed not only to not to come back, but also dissuade others from coming to the ‘City of Destiny’ by sharing their bad experiences.
Recently a doctor couple from Bengal, who had come along with their two teenaged daughters for a holiday, had a very bad experience. According to the hotelier, where the couple had stayed, they were stalked till the hotel from R.K. Beach and all along the route, by eve teasers on motorbikes, who reportedly passed vulgar comments.
The same was the case with a young couple from Jharkhand, who were on their honeymoon trip.
Talking to The Hindu the husband said: “We had a different understanding of Visakhapatnam. We were followed from Rushikonda to R.K. Beach, by a group of over six youngsters. And they appeared to hail from affluent families, as they were in an Audi car and on a couple of high-end sports bikes. They not only passed lewd comments, but even tried to get close and physical with my wife. We tried to lodge a complaint through the hotel and even the hoteliers tried, but the response was poor from the police’s side.”
A few of the hoteliers who were contacted by The Hindu , shared a similar feeling.
Agreeing that they have been receiving such complaints from the guests, they added that the police have been turning a blind eye to their pleas.
Staring at a woman has become a common thing, but what is troubling is that the stares have become intimidating of late.
At times, the eve-teasers, when confronted by the tourists, have turned hostile and they even questioned the ethnicity of the tourists. This is unbecoming of a city, which is being promoted as a tourist destination and it could turn to be a major hiccup, if not controlled now, said an hotelier, on condition of anonymity.
Recently a hotelier had a major problem when a tourist complained that the women in their group were clicked by a group of youngsters after they had come out of the water in wet clothes, and when confronted and asked to delete the pictures, they landed into a heated argument.
Police reaction
While the hoteliers and tour operators claim that the response from the police has been poor, the police say that they have not received any official complaint so far.
But it is also a fact that apart from a traffic outpost and a beach patrol, there is hardly any initiative from the police side to man the beaches or control the menace.
A senior officer said that this issue was brought up to his notice, and the department had contemplated launching a programme close to the ‘She team’ of Hyderabad, but it was shelved owing to shortage of personnel.
