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| On the banks of Roopnarayan river at Gadiara |
Gadiara, a picturesque, sleepy hamlet on the banks of Roopnarayan, was once the most popular weekend getaway for people in Calcutta and neighbouring districts. Visitors arrived at the sleepy hamlet in cars or by buses, spent a day at the riverside and went back after sundown. However, over the past few years, Gadiara has lost out on its thriving tourism in the face of twin allegations of lack of infrastructure and rampant flesh trade in private hotels. While the number of visitors to Gadiara in 1985-95 rose to 2,500 to 3,500 every weekend, it dwindled to 1,000 to 1,500 from 1996 to 2006. From 2007 till now there are just about 250 to 300 visitors during weekends. The state tourism department and the district administration have recently taken a string of measures to bring tourists back to this river spot.
The one-kilometer road leading to ‘Roopnarayan’, the state government-run guest house at Gadiara, has been widened by fortifying the banks of Roopnarayan river, turning the road into a metal road, illuminating the entire stretch by streetlights. On the communication front, the district administration has requested the private bus owners and the state transport department to continue running buses till 8pm.
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| A country boat moored on the banks of Roopnarayan river at Gadiara |
On the law and order front, a police outpost will be set up to keep vigil on the private hotels, where sex trade was rampant. “Infrastructure development and police vigil will definitely increase the tourist flow in Gadiara. We hope Gadiara will soon be abuzz with tourists,” said Ajay Bhattacharya, upa-sabhadhipati, Howrah Zilla Parishad, under which the work of infrastructure development has been done.
Roads: Till a couple of years back the Uluberia-Gadiara Road was so pathetic that tourists avoided visiting Gadiara. The entire stretch of the road, from Garuhata to the bank of Roopnarayan, had hundreds of potholes and craters that made the journey a nightmare. The asphalt layer on vast stretches was missing and stone chips jutted out dangerously making the journey along this road a painful experience.
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| The road to Gadiara being repaired. |
The one-kilometer road from the bank of the Roopnarayan to the only state run guest house, ‘Roopnarayan’, was brick-laden and narrow.
The bricks had come loose under the wheels of the cars making the road most dangerous to drive on. In the last few years, the road became narrower still due to the erosion in the riverbank. After dusk the road plunged into darkness in the absence of streetlights.
Recently, the entire stretch of the 25 km road from Garuhata to the banks of Roopnarayan in Gadiara has been thoroughly renovated and the one km road from the bank of Roopnarayan to the guest house has also been repaired. “Earlier, the tourists had a trying time taking their cars to the guest house. At some points, the road became narrow due to erosion on the river bank. Now that the road has been repaired, the tourists face no trouble reaching the guest house,” said Biswanath Biswas, manager, Roopnarayan guest house.
He hoped that with the recent infrastructure improvement on, there would be a more tourists in Gadiara soon. He said that even last year, most of the 32 rooms of the government lodge remained empty.
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| The road from Garuhata to Gadiara has been made into a metal road |
“I used to visit Gadiara almost every year along with my family members. But in the past two years I stopped visiting my favourite tourist spot. Now that the roads are repaired we have started visiting again,” said Rajesh Chatterjee, a resident of Ramrajatala.
Transport: One of the main reasons why tourists gradually started shying away from Gadiara was because of the poor transport system. The services of both the private and public buses were bad. The last Gadiara-Dharmatala state bus left the stand at 5pm and private buses did not ferry passengers beyond Uluberia. Most of the tourists to Gadiara come from within a 100 kilometer radius and they prefer to return home after spending a day on the banks of Roopnarayan along with family and friends. Very few stay back in hotels.
The tourists would ideally like to spend a few hours more on the bank of the river after dusk but they are forced to hurry to the bus stand to avail a bus to return home to Calcutta or other neighbouring districts. Finding transport beyond 5pm is impossible from Gadiara. “If tourists stayed a few hours more, we could do good business. We are also suffering due to the poor transport system,” said Uttam Sasmal, a hotel-cum-restaurant owner. He said that though most of the tourists have meals in his hotel, very few book rooms for night stay.
Earlier, when Gadiara was gradually becoming a favourite destination among tourists, the bus services were good, the tourists used to stay back till late in the evening. “Since the tourists do not get to see the sun rise on the Roopnarayan, they at least want to see the sun set,” said Tarak Mandal, a tea stall owner. He said that the longer the tourists stayed the better for their business. “We are talking to the transport department and private owners so that they increase their service,” said Pulak Roy, MLA from Uluberia (south).
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| The Roopnarayan Tourist Lodge that has been spruced up to attract tourists |
Hotels and restaurants: There are more than one-and-a-half dozen private hotels in Gadiara but most of them have been closed down by the police after allegations of flesh trade. Local people alleged that flesh trade thrived in such hotels with the support of a section of local leaders cutting across party lines and with the blessings of the local police in lieu of money. Girls were brought from North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas and from the rural areas of Howrah through pimps while customers came from urban areas.
“Both the local CPM and Trinamul leaders were involved in the flesh trade. Police were also hand in glove with the hotel owners,” said a villager, who did not want to be identified.
Since the Gadiara tourist spot is nine kilometer away from Shyampur police station, it is difficult for the police to keep continuous vigil on the activities of the private hotels.
“We have intensified police vigil by posting police personnel in Gadiara. If any hotel owner tries to resume flesh trade we shall take action against him,” said Utpal Chakraborty, deputy magistrate, Uluberia.
