At least 25 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters, and protests against the law continue so that India tourism industry is impacted by the incidents.

Officials estimate about 200,000 domestic and international tourists canceled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal in the past two weeks, one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions.

“There has been a 60% decline in visitor footfalls in December this year,” said Dinesh Kumar, a police inspector overseeing a special tourist police station near the Taj Mahal who has access to visitor data. He said the decline was compared to December last year.

“Indian and foreign tourists have been calling our control rooms to check security. We assure their protection, but many still decide to stay away,” said Kumar.

The 17th-century marble monument is in Uttar Pradesh, the northern state that has witnessed the highest number of deaths and intense bursts of violence in two weeks of unrest.

A group of European tourists traveling in a group across India said they now planned to cut short their 20-day trip.

“We are all retired folks, for us travel has to be slow and relaxing. The newspaper headlines have led to a sense of concern and we will leave sooner than we had planned,” said Dave Millikin, a retired banker living on the outskirts of London, who spoke to Reuters from the capital New Delhi.

The Taj Mahal, situated in the town of Agra, attracts over 6.5 million tourists every year, generating nearly $14 million annually from entrance fees. A foreign tourist pays 1,100 rupees (about $15) to enter the grounds, although nationals from neighboring countries get a discount.

Managers in luxury hotels and guest houses around the Taj Mahal said last-minute cancellations during the festive season have further dampened business sentiment at a time when the country’s economic growth has slowed to 4.5%, its slowest pace in more than six years.

In a bid to clamp down on violence and unrest, authorities have suspended mobile internet services in Agra.

“Blocking the internet has affected travel and tourism in Agra by about 50-60%,” said Sandeep Arora, president of the Agra Tourism Development Foundation that groups over 250 tour operators, hotels and guides.

The United States, Britain, Russia, Singapore, Canada, and Taiwan have issued travel advisories asking their citizens to either refrain from visiting or to exercise caution when visiting regions embroiled in India’s protests.

Jayanta Malla Baruah, the head of the Assam Tourism Development Corp., said the state, home to the world’s largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceroses, is visited on average by 500,000 tourists during December.

“But this time, due to the ongoing protests and travel advisories by various countries, the number is down by 90% if not more.”

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According to the official website of HRW  “Indian police, in many areas, have been cracking down on anti-citizenship law protests with force, including unnecessary deadly force against Indian protesters,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director.

“The authorities should prosecute violent protesters, but they also need to hold police officers to account for using excessive force.”

Since protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act began on December 12, 2019, at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds have been arrested.

Police have used excessive force only against demonstrators protesting the law, including many students. All the deaths have occurred in states governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Most of those killed have been Muslims, including an 8-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh. Scores of police officers have been injured. The authorities have also used a colonial-era law, internet shutdowns, and limits on public transportation to prevent peaceful anti-citizenship law protests.

The police have, however, not interfered with demonstrators supporting the law, including ruling party leaders who have advocated violence, HRW said.

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Government sources said Modi met his council of ministers in the capital, New Delhi, on Saturday to discuss security measures to end violent and contentious citizenship law protests that the parliament passed last week, which critics say discriminates against Muslims and undermines the country’s secular constitution.

Under the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will be allowed to claim Indian citizenship — but not if they are Muslims.

Media reports said at least 14 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in clashes between police and protesters since December 11, when the country’s parliament passed the citizenship act.

Modi held the meeting as demonstrations continued on Saturday despite curfews and a draconian regulation to shut down protests.

India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has seen the worst violence with nine people killed so far and several more in critical condition in hospital.

Rights activists in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Modi’s nationalist party, said police had raided their houses and offices to prevent them from planning fresh demonstrations. Authorities also shut schools across the state as fresh protests erupted on Saturday.

The heart of India’s capital also witnessed street battles late Friday as police used water cannon and charged at protesters with batons.

A car was set ablaze and demonstrators were injured during the clashes at the Delhi Gate in the Old Delhi district. The altercations came as thousands reconvened at the Delhi Gate, following an earlier sit-in in the same area, after marching from India’s biggest mosque, Jama Masjid, in the afternoon.

In Modi’s home state of Gujarat, fresh clashes were also reported between security forces and demonstrators in Vadodara City.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – India fresh protests raged on Monday as anger grew over new citizenship legislation slammed as anti-Muslim law after six people died in the northeast and up to 200 were injured in New Delhi.

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