A sniffer dog advances towards a visitor to Taj Bengal and (below) the usually open gate to the Oberoi Grand stays closed on Thursday as part of the terror alert. Pictures by Amit Datta

Calcutta’s five-star addresses turned into fortresses overnight, with even familiar guests being forced to alight from their vehicles at the gates for frisking and confirmation of their identities before going in.

A sniffer dog and stern-looking security personnel greeted visitors to Taj Bengal in Alipore and the usually wide-open gate to the Oberoi Grand in Esplanade was closed as their sister properties in Mumbai battled the terrorist invasion throughout Thursday.

“This is unprecedented. From sniffer dogs to full-body scanners, they have arranged for everything. This is the first time that I have seen five-star hotels of Calcutta go to such lengths,” an officer said.

Police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti convened a meeting of representatives of these hotels in the morning to review security and issued a fresh set of guidelines.

Additional police personnel were deployed in front of the hotels.

“We are co-ordinating with the police and following the guidelines issued by them. Apart from the gates, we are keeping strict vigil on the lobbies and other areas with closed-circuit television cameras,” said Ranju Alex, the assistant general manager of the Oberoi Grand.

He requested guests to carry some proof of identity and bear with the inconvenience of being checked at the gates. Not that anybody was complaining.

“The television images from Mumbai indicate we are not safe anywhere. These security arrangements are for our good only,” said Kim Robinson, an American tourist staying at the hotel.

Four private guards and two security supervisors checked every vehicle that stopped in front of the gate of the Oberoi Grand thoroughly before letting it in.

Security was even stricter at Taj Bengal, where vehicles and guests had to stand the scrutiny of both man and dog. “The security of the hotel and our guests is our first priority,” a spokesperson for the Tata-owned property said. Vehicles were scanned at The Park, too, and all public areas were brought under CCTV coverage and patrolled by a dog squad.

Hotel Hindusthan International increased the strength of its security team by almost 30 per cent and installed more CCTVs in the porch, reception area and lobbies. “Every car number and each face is being captured by the cameras,” said a spokesperson for the hotel.

Security at the malls and multiplexes was also a notch higher than usual on Thursday. Officials said the state of high alert would continue.

“All patrons entering the mall have to go through a doorframe metal detector. Security staff check their belongings after that. Once at the cinema level, they go through another round of checking with a handheld metal detector, followed by a baggage check,” said Captain Virendra Marya, the regional director (east) of INOX.