Now, cough up extra cash for cell phones in Botanical Gardens

KOLKATA: From now on, anyone trying to enter the heritage Botanical Gardens of Howrah's Shibpur, must pay a fee in addition to the ticket charges.
The authorities have clamped this decision to stop photography inside the garden premises. So in case you are carrying a mobile phone with a camera, be prepared to shell out Rs 20 extra. Without any sanction from the Union ministry of forests and environment, the authorities have decided to hike the ticket prices from Rs 5 to Rs 10.For foreigners, the entrance fee has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 100. In addition to the entry fee, visitors to Botanical Gardens will have to shell out Rs 20 extra if ther carry mobile phones on them.
The garden authorities are also mulling a proposal to stop shooting inside the premises. They may have to take the decision soon since a court case is on regarding the permission to shoot films inside Botanical Gardens. An official said, "On 1 December, 2010, a Calcutta high court Division Bench had ordered that films couldn't be shot inside Botanical Gardens. Yet, a French filmmaker has been given the permission to shoot the gardens between 17 and 26 December." The official pointed out that petrol-run cars are not allowed inside the gardens, but the film-maker has been making a mockery of this directive as well, and was using cars freely.
Therefore, the authorities have called an emergency meeting in January to reconstitute the guidelines for Botanical Gardens.