Have acted against those attacking foreign tourists: UP govt

Uttar Pradesh government today said it takes the recent attacks on foreign tourists in the state seriously and has acted against the culprits in all such cases.
"These cases are serious in nature and since we are in the government it is our responsibility to see that they do not recur. We have taken cognisance and steps have been taken whenever any such incident took place," Parliamentary Affairs minister Suresh Khanna told the Legislative Assembly.
"We will give strict directives making the entire police station responsible for any such incident taking place in its area," he said.
Khanna was speaking on an adjournment notice by the leader of opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary on the recent cases of attack on foreign tourists in some parts of the state.

Chaudhary said Uttar Pradesh, which already is infamous for its unimpressive law-and-order record, was earning a bad name at the global level due to such cases.
"Foreign tourists frequent Kashi (Varanasi), Agra and Vrindavan...through them the country earns foreign exchange... it will hit tourism sector...," Chaudhary said, citing some incidents taking place in the state in the recent past.

Last week in Varanasi, some youths had attempted to rape a 'sadhvi' hailing from Argentina. She somehow managed to escape.
Samajwadi Party leader Manoj Kumar Pandey raised the issue of falling groundwater level in the state and presence of fluoride and arsenic in potable water which has led to serious ailments.

Citing WHO and UNICEF report, Pandey said more than one crore people were facing this danger and 22 districts of the state were grappling with this problem.
"This is causing disability in children in the age group of 2 to 4 years because they drink such water," he said.
Khanna said the government is working on improving the ground water level which will also solve the problem of presence of arsenic and fluoride in water.