MillenniumPost
Bengal

Bengal Govt's Patha Sathi motels in all 23 districts

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's initiative to set up motels along the state and the national highways – named Patha Sathi – has now spread across the state.
All the 23 districts of Bengal now have Patha Sathi motels.
Each of the motels has toilets and rooms where people can take rest and have their breakfast and dinner.
The State Housing Department has set up the motels.
There are plans to set up more such motels in the future.
The motels are run by women belonging to self-help groups (SHG). They have helped the women to become financially self-reliant. Breakfast and dinner are prepared and served by women looking after the place.
The rooms are spacious and have attached toilets. There are both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms.
Ever since Ms Banerjee started visiting the districts regularly as a leader of the Opposition, after founding Trinamool Congress in 1998, she found that because of lack of toilets, those who travelled along state and national highways, particularly women, faced problems.
In those days, petrol pumps along the highways also did not have toilets. So, after coming to power in 2011, she sanctioned the project.
After the upgrading of the state and national highways, more and more people are visiting different places in cars.
Resorts have come up in remote areas and during holidays, people visit them by road. As the number of people traveling along highways has gone up, the necessity of motels for brief stays, where food is available along with clean toilets, has gone up too.
Hence, the project has been a huge success. In many places, the motels are booked almost throughout the year.

Next Story
Share it