Tourists not permitted to visit Mahabs on Feb 1

CHENNAI: With the G-20 summit all set to begin in Chennai in the coming week and visitors planning to take a tour of Mahabalipuram after the summit, officials from the Department of Archaeology said tourists would not be allowed to visit the town on Feb 1.

Several higher officials from the departments of archaeology, tourism and police have been frequently visiting Mahabalipuram to inspect the ongoing preparations for the annual summit that’s all set to take place in the first week of February.

The summit, which is scheduled to take place at star hotels in Chennai, will have hundreds of guests arriving from 20 countries including Argentina, Russia, Brazil, France, Germany etc. After the summit, they’d be taken to all the popular tourist attractions at Mahabalipuram such as Five Rathas, Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butterball and Shore Temple.

So, officials from the Department of Archaeology decided to not allow tourists into the town on Feb 1 during the delegation visit for security reasons. The entry fee ticket counters would be closed, and police personnel would be posted at each monument to enhance security.

Staff from the tourism department have arranged for various art and dance programmes to entertain the guests for the summit.

Roadside vendors have been instructed to remove their shops during the visits. The municipality staff have been requested to sanitise the entire area to ensure hygiene.

The entry fee ticket counters would be closed, and police personnel would be posted at each monument to enhance security