Bhubaneswar, Nov. 12: Police today asked small hotel owners in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to register themselves with the police.
The decision was taken during an interaction between police and hoteliers of twin cities, which revealed that a number of such establishments offering accommodation to tourists were operating without registration.
The police have asked the owners of the hotels, lodges and guesthouses to register themselves under the Sarais Act, 1867. According to the Act, all the hoteliers are supposed to submit a copy of the trade licence to the district administration. The registration process also includes obtaining a no-objection certificate from the fire and emergency services department.
This was a part of the initiatives the police took today to curb crimes taking place in these business establishments.
According to the statistics available with the police, Bhubaneswar has 147 registered establishments that offer accommodation to guests and Cuttack has 69 of them.
The police also asked the hotel owners to keep a database of occupants and submit the same to the local police station periodically.
On the other hand, the hoteliers opposed the raids conducted by the police at odd hours. “We are not saying that the police should not raid when suspicion arises. But sometimes, the raids are being conducted after midnight causing embarrassment to occupants, especially married couples,” said Basudev Sahu, the owner of a hotel in Bhubaneswar.
The police, however, made it clear that they were empowered to conduct raids even after midnight.
“The police conduct raids only after getting specific tip-offs. So, the hotel owners must assist them during a raid,” said police commissioner R.P Sharma.
The police also warned the hotel owners of stringent action in case of violation of norms of serving liquor and hosting late night parties.
Electronic challan
The police are planning to introduce an electronic challan for traffic norms violators. The electronic challan would be generated by a machine which will also take the photograph of the violator. The machine would be connected to the police control room.
“This will enable the police to collect fines related to traffic violations through credit and debit cards as well,” said a senior police official.