No room for tourist, politician book hotels

Guwahati, Mar 11 (UNI) If you are planning to come to Asom for a holiday and spend a few days have in the next one week better rethink.

Guwahati is virtually closed to tourists as hotels are packed to capacity due to the mad scramble for tickets by all political parties.

Mr Charge Donald and Mr Clen Hock are two friends from Sweden.

They landed up here today from New Delhi and are on their way to Kaziranga to get a glimpse of the famed Kaziranga National Park before it is closed for the monsoon.

But there was not a single room available here as they wanted to stay a couple of days before moving to Kaziranga. ''Every room is booked,'' said the front manager, Mr Prasanta Barua, of a renowned hotel of Guwahati city.

Ticket seekers of the Congress and the AGP have literally ''captured'' every hotel. The situation might ease off by tomorrow as the BJP last night declared their first list with 60 candidates.

''Each ticket seeker is occupying at least five to seven rooms as each one of them is accompanied by at least a dozen people,'' said Mr. Hafiz Rahman of another popular hotel of Paltan bazaar.

The Swedish duo, after failing to get any accommodation, took a taxi and decided to drive all the way to Kaziranga hoping to get some accommodation at Kohora.

The unprecedented surge of ticket seekers has literally driven the hotel authorities into despair. Last night when Union Minister Bijoy Krishna Handique went inside Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, within minutes hundreds of ticket seekers jammed the entire balcony.

''Only those having longstanding relationships are staying with us and they are basically the sales people. Otherwise all guests are these bunches of polictians,'' said Pradeep Hazarika of another hotel of pan Bazaar.

The hotel authorities were extra cautious and getting advance money for everything apprehending that these people will disappear once the ticket issue is resolved. ''It is ridiculous sometimes. Most of them are not accustomed to good hospitality. But for business it is not bad,'' said Mainak Dey, Manager of a two star hotel in the heart of commercial hub Paltan Bazaar known for its Bengali dishes.

He admitted that many of these people have a habit of not paying.

''We are dealing only with advance money. Not post payment,'' he said.

An American couple Jack Harding and Sonat Havell was politely turned away by two upmarket hotels.

The AGP is also not far behind. Although many of their supporters are economically not as powerful as those of the ruling party, they have also blocked several budget hotels in and around their headquarters.

The Congress had their screening committee meeting at Hotel Greenwood resort but even that was vandalized by ticket seekers.

Some were even camping in vain in hotels trying to impress the central leadership. The situation will ease off only the next week as the last date of filing of nomination papers for the first phase of election is March 17.

With both the AGP and the Congress withholding their list of candidates till the last moment, hotel owners will have a good time till then.

UNI