The District Tourist Information Centre housed in the heritage building of the Clock Tower continues to be in a state of utter neglect. The area surrounding the iconic heritage building of the Clock Tower has been encroached by vendors and hawkers.
Though the information centre is supposed to encourage tourism in the district and the state, it has turned into an anathema driving people away, thanks to hawkers, including tobacco and pan masala sellers, who stand in front of its gate.
Not just the tourist information centre, even the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower, constructed in 1906, from which the Ludhiana district is usually identified, also lies neglected due to the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities concerned, including the Municipal Corporation (MC).
The signage for the information of tourists is hardly visible due to encroachments around. Vendors have not even left the railing around the centre, as they have tied illegal hoardings with it.
A flex board of the MC has also been tied to the railing, while another encroacher has made a shed by adding a cover on the top.
When asked, Pawandeep Singh Sodhi, District Tourism Officer, said: “We have asked people encroaching the space around the centre to move away, but despite repeated appeals nobody has paid heed.”
“This is shocking as instead of taking action and keeping a check on cleanliness around one of the heritage buildings in the busy market area, the administration awaits formal complaints to be filed by officials concerned,” he said. Despite several attempts, including calls and SMS, the Municipal Commissioner remained unavailable for comments.
