Ferozepur December 6, 2018: In a bid to check the menace of illegal travel agents, the state government taking the cognizance of duping of innocent persons for arranging their visas with work permit to various countries, has made it mandatory for registration of travel agents and enacted the Punjab Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Rules, 2013 and Prevention of Human Smuggling Act 2012.
With this message, in Ferozepur itself, there are around 51 such agents providing the consultancy and IELTS guidance have registered them when earlier there was not a single registered travel agent and this would help the innocent persons to visit abroad.
The Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Rules, 2013 makes it mandatory for all travel agents or those running ticketing or consultancy business, to register with the government. Those who have been in the trade for over five years have to pay a licence fee of Rs 1 lakh and who have not completed five years have to pay Rs 25,000.
During the last seven decades in the travel industry have experienced an increase in growth and there had been countless victims of human trafficking – the hottest issue in Punjab - which is termed as ‘Kabootarbaazi’ in the Punjabi language in Punjab and is an intractable problem worldwide, it badly affecting the Indians – Punjab also.
Hardly there is any day when a case is not registered for cheating the innocent persons with hefty amounts for promising to send abroad. In the state where thousands of young people risk their lives and livelihood of their parents in a bid to go abroad, only 900 cases have been registered against the unscrupulous travel agents.
In fact, as the receiving countries adopted new migration policies from time to time, this made it difficult to get visas and those desperate to go abroad started using unfair methods to get there by getting the tourist visa and on reaching abroad, they destroy the papers and disappear.
Amit Kumar Gupta, SDM, when contacted said, with the mandatory instructions for registration of travel agents, in Ferozepur around 51 agents have got themselves registered for getting a licence to run their business for travel ticketing, IELTs and consultancy. There was a time when there was not even a single registered travel agent.
When asked about its impact, he said, it will create a confidence among the people when they approach the registered travel agents.
Making an appeal to the people, Gupta said, in an attempt to go abroad, Punjabis are using diverse methods to get around legalities. All those aspirants for visiting abroad should get the consultation from the registered travel agents only so that in the event of any fraud, they could be proceeded with legally. These registered travel agents have been directed to mention their registration number in any advertisement by them and display at their business campus.
Check the list of registered travel agents, IELTS institute, a consultancy in Ferozepur from the link below :
https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3a8c88a0055f636e4a163a5e3d16adab7/uploads/2018/07/2018121382.pdf