The district administration and police in Birbhum on Tuesday directed all hotel and resorts owners in and around Santiniketan not to allow bookings in their properties till January 15 in the wake of a rapid rise in Covid cases in the varsity town these past five days.

The decision of the local authorities came after the review and as an additional precaution. The state government’s restrictions don't ask for closure of hotels.

Bolpur’s subdivisional officer Ayan Nath and subdivisional police officer Abhisek Ray held an emergency meeting with hoteliers in Bolpur on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the ground reality of keeping hotels and resorts open at a time Covid infections are increasing swiftly.

“After observing the rapid rise in Covid cases in Bolpur and Santiniketan we decided to shut hotels and resorts for tourists as it invites outsiders. Primarily, the order will be in force till January 15 and will review the situation for further steps,” said Nath.

All the bookings made for the period would stand cancelled and hoteliers have been asked not to allow any bookings till January 15. There are around 800 hotels, resorts and homestays in Santiniketan that hosts around up to 20,000 visitors mainly on weekends.

Sources said that in the past five days around 150 cases have been reported in the varsity town that alarmed district officials who feared cases here would be higher when compared to other parts of Birbhum.

“Comparing to the other parts of the districts, Bolpur reported the highest number of cases so far and it indicates the surge might rise further. Our mission is to keep Santiniketan free from people coming from outside, particularly Calcutta and its adjoining areas, where the pandemic situation is worst,” said a senior official in Bolpur.

Prosenjit Choudhury, the secretary of Bolpur and Santiniketan Hoteliers’ Association, said they will follow the directive. “We will face a huge financial loss but the guidelines of the administration will be followed,” Choudhury said.