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West India's Rajasthan is worrying about being tagged unsafe, which might affect its tourism, as another foreign tourist filed rape charge there on Wednesday.
According to Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), a Japanese female tourist alleged Wednesday that she was raped by a guesthouse manager in the Hindu holy town of Pushkar in Rajasthan.
A German tourist was assaulted in Jodhpur last year and another German, a student, was attacked in Alwar a month ago.
"These kinds of incidents may not have much impact on tourist arrivals, but it would certainly develop a fear factor," said Kuldeep Singh, president of the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators, quoted by IANS.
"Tourists, especially women, would not like to travel or stay alone and may try to come with their friends and relatives from now onwards," Singh said.
However, Navendu Goswami of tour firm Rajasthan Expedition said such cases would certainly affect the tourist inflow.
"I feel the rapes send a wrong signal. Who would like to travel to a place that is not safe and secure?" he asked.
The Pushkar police had earlier charged an Israeli couple with public display of affection and a foreign woman with taking a holy dip nakedly.
The crimes and arrests have rattled Rajasthan, which has always been a favorite tourism destination among foreign and domestic travelers.
According to estimates, one out of every three foreign tourists visiting India puts Rajasthan on his must-see list. About two million foreigners and 20 million domestic tourists visited the state in 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2006)
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