Renewed lockdown in containment zones across Bengal starting July 9 has put the tourism industry in East Midnapore’s Digha and Mandarmani on the backfoot again, following a full-scale reopening on July 1 which hotel operators were banking on for much-needed business.

Digha so far does not have a single Covid-19 case. But tourism has been severely hit by a number of related factors.

Hotels in the tourist towns of Digha, Mandarmani and Tajpur had been closed till June 30, after two failed attempts to reopen on June 8 and 15.

“In June, our efforts to reopen were thwarted by residents as they were scared of the infection coming to the town from others,” said New Digha Hotel owner Sampat Pradhan. “The fresh lockdown from July 9 in containment zones has proved to be a fresh setback. My hotel’s occupancy went up to 14 rooms after July 1, but is down to four rooms this weekend.”

He said that their financial losses were “massive”. “Digha may be safe from the virus but its ripple-effects are destroying our economy,” he added.

His hotel manager Asif Khan said many employees were not coming to work as they lived in containment zones in the district or Calcutta.

A source in the hoteliers’ association said many small operators were looking to close down again because of zero footfall and consistent maintenance costs.

“East Midnapore has a relatively low containment-zone count of 12. But we are heavily dependent on Calcutta and the other district towns for our survival. Also, very few buses and trains are operating,” added Digha hoteliers’ association joint secretary Dipra Das Chakraborty.

Association sources estimated a 3,000-4,000 person footfall last weekend across the 600 hotels which reopened on July 1. This plunged to less than 1,000 this weekend.

Among the 600-odd hotels that saw a sharp dip reservations was Bengal tourism authority’s holiday home.

“Starting July 9, all our reservations were cancelled save for two,” said Digha-Sankarpur development authority booking manager Ramprasad Jena.

One of the prospective guests, Syamasree Sur, a Behala resident in Calcutta and college principal, said she and her family were “planning to go to Digha to take our minds off the lockdown”. “But there is a slim chance of that happening now,” she said, referring to the lockdown and the rising Covid-19 infections.

DSDA vice chairman and local MLA Akhil Giri said Digha was “among the safest places in Bengal”. “There is still not a single positive case in Digha. Residents and hotels follow stringent safety precautions. We implore our guests to come back soon,” he added.

In Mandarmani, occupancy numbers were down by 75 per cent from last week, said a source.

“Sixty per cent of our hotels reopened on July 1 but now it looks like we are going to take another hit financially. Several hotels are having to postpone their reopening indefinitely,” said Mandarmani hoteliers’ association secretary Debdulal Das.

Tourist lodges

The state tourism department reopened 10 of its 32 tourist lodges across Bengal.

“Ten tourist lodges of our department are open for visitors. Among these, eight are in south Bengal and two in north Bengal,” said state tourism minister Gautam Deb. The idea is to encourage tourism while maintaining all necessary safety protocols.”

North Bengal lodges that have reopened are in Tilabari (on the fringes of Gorumara National Park in Jalpaiguri) and Morgan House in Kalimpong.

In south Bengal, the tourist lodges in Rangabitan (Birbhum), Maithan, Sagarika, Bishnupur Bakkhali, Digha, Jhargram and Barrackpore have been reopened.

“Interested visitors can book online. We have trained our staff on sanitisation of the rooms and the premises. Visitors will get disposable kits with sanitiser, masks, gloves, among others,” said a source in the tourism department.