Polls slated today: Digha hotel booking stalled for two days

Kolkata: Fresh hotel bookings in Digha have been stalled temporarily for two days starting Friday with the seaside destination going for elections on Saturday. Digha falls under Kanthi Parliamentary constituency which is one of the eight constituencies slated for polls on Saturday.

However, the hoteliers will not turn down any tourist who accidentally turns up without having knowledge of this temporary booking cancellation.

“The district administration has asked us not to have fresh hotel bookings on the day and the day before the elections with the objective to restrict outsiders’ movement to the best possible extent.

We have extended our full cooperation to the district administration.

WThe majority of the tourists who have booked in advance will be leaving by Saturday morning and a very large number vacated on Friday itself,” said Bipradas Chattopadhyay, Joint Secretary of Digha Hoteliers Association.

He added that the warning of cyclone ‘Remal’ has also led to the tourists already in Digha to leave for their respective homes.

The tourists who had made bookings much earlier will not be disallowed entry into the hotels. However, naka checking at different points started from Friday morning and private vehicles are also plying in much less numbers. Fewer shops will also remain open. “Tourists come here for luxury purposes and they do not want any unnecessary harassment. So, there will be only a handful of tourists in Digha this weekend,” said a hotelier in Old Digha.

There are some 650 odd hotels in Digha that are affiliated to the Digha Hoteliers Association.