BHUBANESWAR: As the State Government grapples with yet another high-profile hostage crisis, Paolo Bosusco, one of the abducted Italians, took centrestage over flouting laws of the land. Paolo was a tour operator working from a one-room office along Puri’s Chakratritha Road for more than 15 years. His agency __ Orissa Trekking and Adventures __ has been illegally running for the last several years. His agency had no valid authorisation nor even a signboard. As per norms, a tour operator agency has to be registered with the Tourism Department of the State Government or Government of India. An agency has to apply for authorisation within a year of its operation. The local tourist officer makes an inspection and submits a report basing on which the authorisation is sanctioned. In Paolo’s case, it was not done. According to Puri police, Paolo holds a multiple business visa which is valid till October 24, 2018. Although he is allowed to run enterprises under the visa norms, he was bound by Indian laws to seek authorisation for his tour operator activities which he did not. That he was undertaking conducted tours for foreign tourists without having authorisation may invite action. But he even blatantly flouted government instructions on tribal tours in the State. The Government had recently made it clear that tribal tours will need prior permission from the collector concerned. Paolo had not heeded the instruction. “We have found out from the Tourist Office in Kandhamal that he made no application for his tour. In fact, he never has asked permission for such tours,” a Tourism Department official said. The Tourist Office at Puri had held a meeting of the travel agents recently but Paolo’s agency had not even figured in it as it operated without knowledge of the authorities. Using his contacts, he is believed to have picked foreign nationals for such tours in the tribal areas. Paolo and Claudio had come to the notice of Daringbadi police while moving around in Kandhamal district. The police had reportedly asked them to leave as the region was not conducive for their free movement. Paolo is believed to have defied the instructions and gone ahead with his plans. Even though the Government recently tightened tribal tourism norms after ‘Human Safari’ furore, Paolo had been seeking his clients through his agency’s website www.orissatrekking.com. He had posted photographs of several parts of the State along with his e-mail ID [email protected] for contact.
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