The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is likely to take over the security of Victoria Memorial from January 15 and deploy over a 100 personnel for its round the clock surveillance, an official said on Sunday.
“CISF will take charge of the security from January 15 and we are constructing a barrack for the CISF personnel inside the premises for their permanent accomodation. We have made temporary arrangements for their stay at Kolkata Port Trust barrack in Kidderpore area,” Victoria Memorial Curator Jayanta Sengupta said on the sidelines of the launch of e-ticketing system at the Memorial.
The central force would replace the existing three-tier security by the Kolkata Police, private agencies and the Memorial’s own security.
On Sunday, Union Culture Secretary Raghvendra Singh launched the e-ticketing system by purchasing the first ticket online. Two vending machines, one each at the North and South gate of the Memorial, were also installed, though which tickets can be bought by cash or card.
About the online ticketing system, Sengupta said that persons can purchase tickets six months in advance through a link in the website that has been linked with Book My Show portal which is a ticketing partner.
One can use debit and credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) as well as Netbanking to buy tickets. International users will need to have a PayPal account to buy tickets online.
Those who have smartphones will receive an email with a QR code which will just need to be scanned at the gates for a paperless validation. Those who don’t have smartphones will need a printout with the QR code.
According to estimates, around 35 lakh people including foreigners visit the the Memorial in a year. In the winter months, the footfall is around 35,000 per day and serpentine queue are a common sight.
“The online mode will help the visitors to save the time of waiting in the line for buying tickets,” Sengupta added.