Puri, June 27: Tourists who have come to the city to witness rath yatra are disappointed with the poor quality of accommodation at the state-run Panthanivas here.
The facility, run by Odisha Tourism Development Corporation Limited (OTDC), is in a neglected state with complaints pouring in about chunks of concrete falling off roofs, locks missing from bathroom doors and poor sanitation among others.
"The room service here is not at all good. The bathroom doors are broken. Rooms are not clean nor are the corridors outside. The Panthanivas garden, too, bears testimony to irregular maintenance," said Niranjan Mishra, a tourist from Khurda.
There are two blocks at the hotel - A and B with total room strength of 54. It has both AC and non-AC rooms with prices ranging from Rs 900 to Rs 2,300. "We are ready to pay the prices whatever it may be, but only in exchange for good service and quality accommodation, which is a distant dream here," said Arko Banerjee, a tourist from Bengal.
The OTDC's inefficiency does not end here. In 2015-16, the state government had sanctioned Rs 2 crore to the OTDC from the state budget to maintain and develop all its 22 Panthanivas homes. But, the authorities do not even have the utilisation details of the sanctioned amount. "We did get the amount, but it was spend in the development of other Panthanivas homes. We do not have authorisation of the Puri-Konark Development Authority to undertake the development of the Puri Panthanivas. However, we understand the situation and will shortly take up the matter at a higher level to find a solution," said an OTDC official.
On the other hand, the Puri Panthanivas has maintained a good record of earning handsome revenue every year. In 2014-15, it had generated revenue of about Rs 3.23 crore, which increased to Rs 3.77 crore in 2015-16.
The authorities had also planned to construct a new kitchen and a dining hall, but it has not been taken up yet.
Besides, the transport unit, meant for parking of the tourist vehicles, does not even have a boundary wall. The buses and other vehicles are parked here to take the tourists to various locations as part of tour packages.
There are about eight Volvo buses and some tempo travellers are used by the OTDC to take the tourists to various spots. These vehicles are parked here in the open. The OTDC had purchased the buses at Rs 75 lakh each and the tempo travellers for Rs 20 lakh each. The tourism body had generated Rs 1.31 crore by using these vehicles during 2014-15. The revenue was again increased to Rs 1.34 crore the next year.
But tourists often complain that the tempo traveller seats are torn. "I don't understand why we are giving so much money to the OTDC for such bad tour packages. If we go to some private hotels, we will get good service. The government is to blame for this," said Ayan Rath, a tourist from Koraput.
