The Dhanbad district administration will offer quarantine facilities in hotels for those Covid-19 suspects who are reluctant to stay at the government quarantine centre and are ready to pay the hotel charges.
Such facilities are reportedly available now in at least three states, Delhi, Telangana and Karnataka, as well, and in those places are mostly aimed at those returning from abroad.
In Dhanbad, the facility will be available in hotels and resorts on NH-2 at Govindpur.
They are located far away from the main town because quarantine facilities in hotels situated in densely populated areas may have faced with resistance from residents.
To begin with, Wedlock Greens resort at Kashitand in Govindpur block has agreed to provide the facility. Those willing to avail it will have to pay Rs 3,000 per day.
Dhanbad sub-divisional officer (SDO) Raj Maheshwaram said: “We have been holding talks with hotels since yesterday (Tuesday) and finally zeroed in on those located away from the main town. We will launch the facility at Wedlock Greens resort from Thursday.”
He said the quarantine facility would be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis because currently there were only 70 beds available at the resort.
“The number of beds may increase with more hotels and resorts agreeing to launch the facility,” Maheshwaram added.
Vivek Poddar, director of Wedlock Hotels and Resorts, said free breakfast would be provided to people willing to avail the facility.
“For lunch and dinner, the guests will have to pay extra charges. We will have limited menu in lunch and dinner because we are operating with a fewer number of staff to avoid overcrowding. An intensive sanitation drive of entire hotel campus will be carried out on a regular basis,” he said.
Poddar said the hotel staff would use proper safety measures such as personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid any risk of infection.
“The highest level of hygiene will be maintained. The beds and other items used by the guests would be sanitised regularly,” he added.
Operational since 2016, the sprawling Wedlock Greens resorts is situated around 9km from the Dhanbad town.
Senior general manager of Skylark Hotel, Anutosh Bagchi, said they had not yet been approached by the district administration, but would offer the quarantine facility if asked.
On whether it would help to provide some respite to the hotel industry that had been hit hard by the pandemic, Bagchi said: “Though it may generate funds at the moment, but hotels that offer such a facility run the risk of creating a wrong perception among people who may avoid visiting the hotels when the lockdown ends because of the fear associated with the infection.”