Kolkata set to get more homestays

Kolkata: The Tourism department’s push for promoting homestay across the state is spreading its wings to Kolkata with four such units coming up with two more applications – one in the south and another in the north - presently being evaluated by Kolkata Police.

The homestays that have come up are located at Gariahat, Jatin Das Road under Rabindra Sarobar Police Station, Netaji Nagar, and KC Bose Road in Shyambazar. The addresses and contact numbers of these homestays are available on the website of the Tourism department. The one at Netaji Nagar named ‘Take Planet’ is expected to be updated soon.

All these registered homestays – titled ‘Nijer Bari’ (Gariahat), ‘June’s Home’ (Rabindra Sarobar) and ‘Oh Kolkata Sutanuti Homestay’ (Shyambazar) belong to the silver category whose registration fee is Rs 500. The fee for the gold category is Rs 1000.

In August 2022, the Tourism department held a workshop in Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s headquarters to apprise the councillors about the homestay tourism policy and the procedures for applying to the Tourism department for allowing such facilities. In September 2022, the department came up with a revised ‘Home Stay Tourism Policy’. “The homestays in Kolkata have come up in adherence to this policy,” a KMC official said.

“Many people in the city have excess property that can be utilised for homestays and once the application gets approved, the Tourism department provides an incentive of Rs 1 lakh in two installments for developing the required facilities. Such homestays have become a major source of employment in Bengal and can be replicated in Kolkata too,” a senior official of the homestay cell in KMC said.

Kolkata draws people from different parts of the country for medical treatment and business purposes. Often they have to put up in hotels that burn a hole in their pockets. The homestay facilities may be of immense help to them as they will be entitled to a homely atmosphere.

“Food is an area of concern for the people who stay in hotels. In homestay, they can have home-made food of their choice,” a senior official of the Tourism department said. Supriya Chattopadhyay, owner of ‘Nijer Bari’, said there are two bedrooms; one living-cum drawing and two bathrooms at the Gariahat address. Chattopadhyay has been running a homestay ‘Boi Er Bari’ in Salt Lake since 2019 where there are six rooms; three on the 4th floor and the same number on the ground floor. The second and third floor is where she stays with her family.