Varanasi: A picture of himself feeding birds during a boat ride, posted by Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, who was recently on a visit to this temple town, has landed the boatman in trouble with the Uttar Pradesh administration, The Indian Express (TIE) reported.
“Happiness is feeding birds,” wrote Dhawan in his Instagram post. Dhawan took a trip to the holy city where he visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Kaal Bhairav temple after returning from a triumphant series win in Australia.
Varanasi district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma told ANI that action would be taken against boatmen who did not follow the administration’s guidelines during rising cases of bird flu that those taking boat rides were not allowed to feed the birds. Shikhar Dhawan would not be facing any action, he was quoted as saying.
“There was some information that some boatmen are not adhering to the administration’s instructions and the tourists on their boats are feeding the birds. So, these boatmen are being identified and tourists generally are not aware of such things,” Raj Sharma was quoted as saying in the report.
“However, it was made clear by the police and the administration to the boatmen that they should not allow the tourists on their boat to feed the birds. Whosoever flouted these rules will be served notice and they will be asked as to why their license should not be canceled… No action will be taken against the tourists.”
