(Top) This is how the Vedic Village poolside looked till Sunday afternoon, before a mob went on the rampage (below)

The mob fury that ravaged parts of Vedic Village on Sunday has not just reduced a few thatched roofs to rubble at a resort on the outskirts — it could have singed the city’s emerging hospitality hub.

For starters, the imminent deal between the Sanjeevani Group, developers of Vedic Village, and international hotel major Best Western for an 80-room luxury property on the Rajarhat campus, could be in jeopardy. The Vedic authorities have already received anxious calls from Best Western.

“We were on the verge of sealing the deal by November, which means the rooms could have become operational by this year-end. This sure sets us back by a few months at least. It’s extremely unfortunate, but we will bounce back,” M.J. Robertson, the director & CEO of Vedic Village, told Metro.

The attack on Vedic Village comes even as Calcutta’s king-sized hospitality dream along the extended corridor to the airport reels under the downturn blow, with not even 20 per cent of the promised injection of 2,000 new five-star rooms expected to be ready by 2010.

Many fear the mob fury — apparently triggered by a potent mix of land acquisition, money deals and muscle power — will blot the city’s image for global tourists.

“This was the only spa-resort in the city we could sell to international tourists and Vedic had a high foreigner occupancy. This is a big blow to the local tourism industry as security concerns will seriously hit overseas traffic now,” lamented Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India.

The impact was already being felt at Vedic Village the day after the arson.

An elderly couple from Canada, visiting Vedic Village with plans to buy a villa in Phase II, now under construction, are having second thoughts after Sunday’s attack in which their car was damaged.

Outstation owners of villas at Vedic Village were desperate to get news from the ground. “I got to know of the fire late on Sunday. I have told my local contacts there to visit Vedic Village and inspect how bad the scene is,” said Vijay Agarwal, a Goa-based businessman who owns a Whirlpool Home.

The Vedic Village violence comes at a time when Bengal is fast gaining a bad name for political violence. “This incident will do nothing to improve that perception. There will surely be some impact on the investment outlook, but I hope it’s a short-term setback,” said Pradeep Sureka, the president of Credai’s state chapter.

A staggering 4,000-plus hotel rooms in the organised sector, across all categories, were announced between 2005 and early 2008, riding the resurgent economy in the state. The mood is very different now.

Harsh Neotia, whose Ambuja Realty is finishing a 130-room star hotel in the City Centre New Town mall, said: “It’s a most unfortunate incident, the real impact of which can only be gauged over a period of time.... It does queer the pitch somewhat for real estate development in that area in the near future at least.”

Officials at Bengal Unitech Universal, with plans for three star hotels in Rajarhat offering 500-plus keys, were “shocked” by the rampage at Vedic. “It’s a shame and all of us who have a stake in New Town are concerned,” said Sameer Bahri, who heads the group’s operations in the east.

At Vedic, the big challenge for the authorities will be restoring the image of the resort. “I feel the property loss is not as much as the impact on the credentials of the resort. People will think twice now. The value of the property may go up or down but if the people lose confidence it will be a big setback,” said Ajay Arya, ENT surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, who owns a Garden Villa at Vedic Village.