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The hot air balloon rides at Delhi's Baansera Park near Sarai Kale Khan have drawn visitors of all age groups, from children to senior citizens, many of whom visited the attraction for the first time. Pinki and Dinesh Kumar travelled from Ghaziabad to take the ride, while several others reached the park early to secure their turn. Anil Jain, a resident of Rajouri Garden, is in his 80s and said he had come to witness the activity out of curiosity. "This is only the second time I have seen something like this here. I had taken a hot air balloon ride nearly 25 years ago near the Red Fort," he said. Deepak Jain, who bought three tickets for his wife and brother, was among the first riders of the day. "It was our first experience, and we were thrilled. From the balloon we could see the Akshardham Temple, Humayun's Tomb and the beautiful view of the river," he said. His wife, Babita Jain, said more arrangements should be made for senior citizens. "We had to climb into the basket and t
Delhiites can experience the hot-air balloon rides from Saturday at Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) Asita Park near the ITO area, officials said. Earlier this week, Lt Governor VK Saxena launched the facility from Banseera Park near Sarai Kale Khan. "Due to an ongoing event at the Baansera Park, the rides will be launched for the public from Asita Park," a DDA official said on Friday. In July, the DDA had finalised a private agency to conduct these activities at four locations, including the Yamuna Sports Complex, the Commonwealth Games sports complexes, and two other sites along the Yamuna Bank at Asita and Baansera. The facility will be available from Saturday, and the ticket will be Rs 3,000 per person, excluding taxes, for a ride around 120 feet in the air. The trips would range from seven to 12 minutes, with each ride having a holding capacity of four people, officials added. According to the officials, each day, four hours of flying time will be allowed, and the private
Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has said the government will implement uniform rates, standardised kiosks, and stricter enforcement to streamline watersports operations in coastal areas to provide the best possible experience to tourists in the state. After chairing a meeting with stakeholders concerning the tourism industry on Wednesday, he said watersports activities have been a traditional source of livelihood for Goans. With time, we must ensure that regulations and transparency are maintained to provide the best possible experience for tourists, he said. The minister said the state has notified the rates proposed by watersports associations in an official gazette. Uniform rates for watersports across Goa from North to South have been finalised and will be implemented by all associations to ensure consistency, he said, adding that the move will prevent overcharging and bring parity across beaches. Khaunte said the government will clamp down on the illegal sale of watersport
Commercial establishments downed shutters while autos and tourist taxies kept off roads here on Wednesday in protest against the e-pass system implemented in line with a court verdict to keep the movement of vehicles under check. The agitation severely affected tourists who complained of exorbitant pricing of available hotel rooms and food. The protest, which was total, mainly affected the tourists as they did not have access to hotel rooms and food as hotels and restaurants remained closed. People queued up at the state-run Amma Canteens, while roadside vendors sprang up at various places to sell food items. Amma Canteens are named after late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and the outlets sell food at subsidised rates. Moulana from Kerala said food was being sold at exorbitant prices. The hotel which had rented out a room for him till Tuesday at Rs 5000 was now demanding Rs 15,000, he claimed and wanted a mechanism to keep hotel tariff under check. Rajesh, a local, also pointed to
Karachi has been ranked as the second-riskiest city for tourists, with a rating of 93.12 out of 100, according to a July 11 Forbes Adviser list, reported Dawn.The July 11 Forbes Adviser list of three of the riskiest cities highlighted that Karachi was second just behind Venezuela's Caracas, which had a score of 100, while Myanmar's Yangon ranked third with a score of 91.67 out of 100.According to the ranking, the city had the highest personal security risk, reflecting risk from crime, violence, terrorist threats, natural disasters, and economic vulnerabilities.It added that Karachi had the second-worst (level 3, reconsider travel) travel safety rating from the US State Department, as reported by Dawn.Moreover, Karachi has the fourth-highest infrastructure security risk, reflecting the availability and quality of city infrastructure, according to the report.To uncover the most and least risky cities for tourists, Forbes Adviser said that it compared 60 international cities across seven
In its bid to tackle the increasing environmental impact on Mount Everest, Nepal has announced a regulation requiring climbers to manage their own excreta and bring it back to the base camp for proper disposal, it emerged on Thursday. The Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which covers most of the Everest region, has introduced the new rule as part of wider measures being implemented to combat the persistent problem of waste accumulation on the world's highest peak, the BBC reported. "Our mountains have begun to stink," the report quoted Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, as saying. Extreme temperatures on the world's highest peak at 8,848.86 metres hinder the natural degradation of excrement. "We are getting complaints that human stools are visible on rocks and some climbers are falling sick. This is not acceptable and erodes our image," Mingma said. Climbers attempting Mount Everest and nearby Mount Lhotse will be ordered to buy poo bags at base camps, whi