The state government has cautioned hoteliers in Puri against charging exorbitant rates from tourists during the forthcoming car festival. The government will cancel licences of hotels if found they are found to be fleecing guests.
On Friday, Puri district collector Aravinda Agarwal convened a meeting with the hoteliers and asked them to strictly collect reasonable money from tourists. “We will de-licence the hotels if tourists complain against them for charging more than the normal tariff. All hotels have been asked to maintain cleanliness and hygiene on their premises. They should ensure the tourists get hygienic food and clean drinking water,” said Agarwal.
A few months ago, the district administration sealed three hotels on charges of providing polluted drinking water to tourists. The matter came to light after some of the tourists were hospitalized.
Puri, which attracts more than 80 lakh tourists, including 65,000 foreign tourists in a year, has nearly 430 hotels. This Nabakalebara Rath Yatra, the state government expects a footfall of nearly five million people. At present, Puri’s hotels have the capacity to accommodate about 50,000 tourists.
“Accommodation will not be a problem as the state government has constructed temporary shelters for nearly one lakh pilgrims. Besides, the railways have set up a temporary accommodation center for 10,000 pilgrims. Hotels have been asked to put in place more beds in their rooms and conference halls,” Puri tourist officer Bijay Jena said.
From the security point of view, the district police have issued a safety advisory to hoteliers and asked them to abide by the guidelines. The local tourist officer will regularly check whether the hotels are complying with the rules.
Police will be on their toes as two Indian Mujaheddin operatives visited Puri last January. “Hotel staff should take photo identity cards from tourists and install security gadgets for the visitors’ safety,” Puri SP Ashish Singh said.
Hoteliers said it would be a testing time for them to verify the antecedents of ‘criminals’ if they approach them for rooms in the guise of tourists. “How will we know whether the tourists are showing their original identity credentials? We lack the expertise to discern between real and fake identity cards,” said Srimant Kumar Dash, owner of Hotel Santana.
Police advised the hoteliers to upgrade their security apparatus. “We urge all hotels to improve their security infrastructure. They should install CCTV cameras and baggage scanners,” Singh said.
Mr.Rajkishore Patra, general secretary of Puri Hotel Association (PHA), demanded that the police intensify patrolling on the beach and Marine Drive road.