70% foreigners in VIP Rd hotels are from Bangladesh: Times of India
Almost 60-70% foreigner guests who check into hotels in Baguiati-Kaikhali belt along VIP Road and at Chinar Park on Biswa Bangla Sarani of Kolkata are Bangladeshis.
The purpose of visit for nine out of 10 Bangladeshis is either business or healthcare, reports Times of India.
Hours after CID officers zeroed in on Hotel Blue Moon at Chinar Park, where at least two men involved in the murder of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, had checked in on 14 May and checked out on 17 May, TOI did the rounds of multiple hotels in the vicinity as well as those on VIP Road to find Bangladeshis comprised a sizeable number of overseas guests.
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Chinar Park is flanked by several budget hotels. The very building that houses Hotel Blue Moon has another guest house.
While the number of foreigners who check into these hotels is less than 10%, Bangladeshis comprise a majority of them. Elsewhere in the Marquis Street-Sudder Street-Freeschool Street belt in central Kolkata, where 50%-60% hotel guests are foreigners, nine out of 10 are from the neighbouring country.
"The primary reason for people staying in hotels near VIP Road is the place's proximity to the airport. There are some who have to catch a flight to Chennai for treatment. Also, families of those who undergo treatment at the cancer hospital in New Town or at hospitals on VIP Road or Dum Dum put up at hotels around here for easy commute and reasonable tariff," said an executive of a hotel at Chinar Park.
Rohit Das, a front office manager at a hotel near Kaikhali, said they usually get a couple of Bangladeshi nationals as guests every day. "They are usually hassle-free and not too demanding. We have a steady stream of Bangladeshi guests as well as enquiries from visitors from the country," he said.
"The number of Bangladeshi tourists is fewer now because visas are not being issued due to the ongoing elections. Only those in an emergency situation, including healthcare and business, are travelling to India at the moment," said Calcutta Hotel, Guest House and Restaurant Owners' Association secretary Rajesh Sethi.
