Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, who is also the Chairman of District Tourism Development Committee, has taken stringent steps to guarantee safety of the inter-State and foreign tourists.

This follows the incident of sexual assault of a foreign tourist at a home stay in Kodagu district, that has raised questions about safety of tourists.

The stringent steps include  immediate closure of all the home stays in the district operating illegally, without obtaining registration under the Tourism Department, followed by strict action against its owners for running the operations in violation of the rules.

Those interested to operate home stays should obtain required No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the competent authorities like Police, local bodies and others and compulsorily register on the official portal of Tourism Department.

It has been prohibited to provide any accommodation facilities for tourists at such units until the process of registration was completed. The tourists have been appealed to move into only those licensed home stays and hotels and confirm the regulations. The officials will conduct surprise visits to assess criterion for safety like installation of CCTV cameras, maintenance of tourist records and the background check of the staff.

The home stays and hotels should compulsorily display following Emergency numbers like 112, National Tourist Helpline-1800-11-1363, Women’s Helpline – 181, Children’s Helpline – 1098, nearby hospitals or authorities, Assistant Director or Deputy Director of Tourism- Ph:0821-2422096, Deputy Commissioner’s Office – Ph: 0821-2424079, Disaster Management Authority – Ph: 0821-2423800, local Gram Panchayat, Urban Local Body office and Sakhi One Stop Centre.