Restoring tourist confidence: Dolphin force deployed in Murree

local civil administration also mobilised to beef up security

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of a major highway robbery and viral videos of tourists being harassed by locals, the Murree Municipal Corporation has deployed the Dolphin Force to provide a safe environment and restore the confidence of tourists.

An official of Murree Municipal Administration told APP that banners have also been unfurled at 17 key intersections which list key numbers of the local civil administration. Moreover, a control room and a help desk has been created.

The official also rejected the ongoing social media movement #BoycottMurree — started by tourists after videos of locals misbehaving with visitors, beating them up, overcharging them at restaurants and motels and left the hill station deserted — terming it propaganda against Malka-e-Kohisar.

"It is our responsibility to provide a safe environment to tourists, treat them properly and provide them with facilities" the official added.

The Dolphin Force personnel have been deployed at all popular picnic spots in Murree to avoid any untoward incidents. If anyone registers a complaint, the force will alert the nearest police station, he added.

Mehtab Ahmed Abbasi, a notable from Murree said that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had a while back ordered to deploy the Dolphin Force in Murree, which he said needs to be deployed in the area which is infested by criminal gangs of robbers from evening till dawn daily.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2018.