The Bengal government has closed its guesthouse for tourists at Massanjore in Jharkhand for the time being in the wake of a BJP protest over painting of a dam’s wall in blue and white last month.

The Bengal irrigation department owns and maintains the dam at Massanjore. Its guesthouse, Mayurakshi Bhavan, has six rooms, of which five are open to tourists.

In the first week of August, BJP workers had stopped the Bengal irrigation department from repainting the Massanjore Dam on the Mayurakshi in Dumka blue and white, saying they would not allow Trinamul’s colours in Jharkhand.

The dam, which mainly benefits farmers in Bengal, was commissioned in 1955, and all its staff belong to the Bengal government.

“We have stopped the booking of the guesthouse for common tourists taking into account the present situation at Massanjore. BJP workers in Jharkhand are keeping an eye on the dam and a group of them had come and threatened to lock the guesthouse recently. So, we can’t take any risk for tourists. If they face any trouble, we will be held responsible,” a senior irrigation official in Birbhum said.

The guesthouse’s rooms can be booked from Jalasampad Bhavan, the irrigation department headquarters in Calcutta, and its office in Suri at Rs 2,500 per night.

A senior irrigation official at Jalasampad Bhavan told The Telegraph: “The situation in Massanjore is volatile due to the dispute over painting the dam’s wall.”

The Dumka district president of the BJP, Nivas Mondal, said: “We will not allow the painting of the dam wall in blue and white. However, we will not touch tourists at the guesthouse.”