Puri: With people in large numbers thronging Puri for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, hotels, lodges, dharmasala and mutts here have already become crowded with guests, triggering a shortage of accommodation.
While more tourists are expected to arrive in the city, rooms in majority of the hotels are already booked. Although a few hotels have some vacant rooms, they have allegedly doubled the tariff. Even some small lodges are said to be charging a whopping `1,000 for a room per day.
According to the data made available by the tourism department, there are 525 hotels and lodges in the pilgrim city with a capacity to accommodate around 35,000 people. However, unofficial data says that there more than 700 hotels, lodges, dharmasala, mutts and holiday homes in the city.
The leading hotels have online booking facilities, while other hotels and lodges offer spot booking facilities. During the lean seasons, tourists get 20 to 50 per cent discount on their bookings and small hotels and lodging offer rooms at reasonably low price.
However, with the surge in tourist flow this year, majority of the hotels and lodges are already packed with customers. The shortage of rooms will create accommodation problems for tourists, who are scheduled to come to the city without making any accommodation.
While some tourists are opting to stay in mutts and dharmasalas, these accommodations are also packed with devotees.
Amid the shortage of rooms in hotels the scheduled visits of VIPs and VVIPs to the city have triggered concern for the administration. According to sources, the administration has made arrangement for accommodation of 23 judges, who are expected to visit the city during the New Year eve. Besides, some senior officials of the state government and some state guests are also expected to spend time in the pilgrim city in New Year.
Moreover, Biju Janata Dal’s state-level foundation day celebration is scheduled to be held in Puri December 26 and this has multiplied the accommodation problems. Ministers, MLAs and many veteran leaders of the party are expected to come to the city. However, most of the special circuit houses and government guest houses are also packed with guests, sources said.
December 21, the administration had written to owners of several hotels asking them to rent out three rooms each on payment basis. However, the hotel owners expressed inability saying all rooms are already booked.
When contacted, district tourism officer Bijay Kumar Jena said, “Now majority of the hotels are packed with tourists. The crowd situation will continue till January 6. However, I have not received any complaint of overcharging by hotels. During off season the hotels are offering discount and now they might have been charging the full price.”
PNN