Visitors Cry Foul over Being Charged Extra for Water, Storage at Tourist Spots

Hyderabad: Visitors to popular recreational spots, mainly the zoo park, Golconda Fort and NTR Gardens, are up in arms over the practice of disallowing water bottles and bags, claiming it was a ploy to make money off them, by forcing them to pay higher-than-MRP prices and charging extravagant fares for maintaining bags at cloakrooms.

Many said that the cheapest water bottle at several tourist spots cost them ₹30.

“None of these rules ever existed before. When we asked the reason behind it, they had no answer. After a lot of resistance, they took us away from the line and asked us to talk to their higher-ups, who weren’t even at the location. One of the boys said ‘either pay up or leave’," said Durgeswari, a visitor at Golconda Fort.

Devi, a mother of two, took her four-year-old and two-year-old sons to NTR Gardens on Sunday evening, where, she claims, staff disallowed her from carrying her copper water bottle inside.

While many others in the queue backed her up and questioned the staffers for a while, they eventually gave up. “We're only doing our job, you can talk to our seniors,” one of the workers said.

While the senior authorities were unavailable for comment, another staff member said it was to ensure cleanliness.

But, visitors pointed out that the woman was carrying a copper bottle and not a plastic one. “In the name of security, they're running tollgates,” said Anil Puppala, a visitor at the spot.

Many complained about similar rules at the Nehru Zoological Park for the past couple of months. While one of the security guards said the rules have “probably been made to check plastic use and waste, and ensure animals are not fed.”

However, the canteen and eateries inside the zoo were found selling water, beverages and food in plastic containers.

“Not to forget that these rates are much higher than the MRP. It appears to be nothing but a mechanism to make more money off us,” Chenna Maniratanam, a visitor, said.

Pratap Desu, another visitor, said: “This happens when society considers water primarily as a business and not a right.”

A third visitor complained that she was not allowed to carry baby food into the park without paying extra.

Visitors suggested that if authorities wanted to prevent littering, they should make the charges refundable. “It makes no sense…nothing, except a reward, can stop people from being unmindful in the future,” said Kiran B., a visitor at the zoo.  

Visitors hoped that the government would intervene to end such practices and promote tourism with people-friendly measures.