Booking a hotel room in Digha is set to get expensive as the seaside town prepares to host the first-ever Rath Yatra after the inauguration of the Jagannath temple, The Times of India reported.
Ahead of the Rath Yatra, which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee on Friday, the average room tariff has nearly doubled in Digha. As per the report, the price had already jumped by 50% in May after the temple’s inauguration.
Following the complaints of a 10-fold hike in rates at some hotels in the town, the district administration has asked hoteliers to display tariff charts and issued a warning stating that any attempt to charge higher tariffs will attract fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.
The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India has asked its members to refrain from making an overkill, the report added. “We want hotel tariffs to be sustainable. For the sanctity of business, we have urged our members to keep tariffs moderate,” HRAEI president Sudesh Poddar was quoted by TOI as saying.
The report added that the crackdown by the district administration came after allegations that some hotels were charging Rs 3,000 for non-AC rooms that could be booked for Rs 300 on weekdays. While the association claimed hotels were adhering to the administration’s directive, hoteliers acknowledged that rates had gone up.
Hoteliers say the Jagannath temple has transformed Digha’s hospitality sector, triggering an expansion in anticipation of a surge in demand. As per the report, after the temple was inaugurated in May, hotel tariffs on weekends crossed record levels, with a suite in one hotel going for Rs 20,000 per night.
“The temple has changed the business landscape. We are seeing a new trend of visitors combining pilgrimage with beach tourism, leading to extended stay and increased spending,” Bipradas Chatterjee, joint secretary of Digha Hoteliers Association, was quoted by TOI.
According to TOI, the seaside town now boasts at least 850 hotels, including 100 premium properties in New Digha, with the capacity to accommodate about 80,000 guests daily. The hospitality sector has also expanded geographically, creating employment opportunities, contributing to the local economy. However, the visitor surge has led to infrastructural challenges, with periodic traffic congestion becoming common during morning and evening hours, the report added.
The newly built Jagannath temple’s impact extends beyond just occupancy rates, as hotels report increased revenue from associated services like restaurants and local tourism packages. Radhagobinda Bhojanaalaya, one of the very few pure vegetarian restaurants in Digha, has seen demand skyrocket in the past month and a half.
“We used to get about 30 customers earlier. But since the temple was inaugurated, we are struggling to serve around 300 customers daily. We can seat only 28 people at a time. We are looking for a bigger place. We have already doubled our staff,” Rajat Kumar Dutta, son of owner Laksmikanta Dutta, told TOI.
At the temple’s gate no. 6, a dedicated offerings stall is also doing great business. “A packet of offerings contains six peda and two gaja, priced at Rs 100. Over 100 packets are sold daily, and seven to eight employees are working on packing and selling these offerings,” Raj Agarwal, the stall supervisor, was quoted by TOI.
As per the report, resident Ranjit Jana from Dahodaya village offers sandalwood tilak to visitors. “The temple is open from 6 am to 8 pm daily, with a break from 1 pm to 3 pm. If pilgrims want, I apply sandalwood tilak on their foreheads. The donations they give are much more than what I used to earn as a labourer,” he said.
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