How Bengal’s Hotel & Hospitality Sector opens doors for quarantine facilities
SH RAHMAN Executive committee member, HRAEI, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India
The human race today is faced with an unforeseen challenge not witnessed in our lifetime! We are all aware of the threat of Covid -19. There are various response and thought process that each one of us have with regard to the explanation of nature’s own way of reclaiming itself and slowing the human race to make them realise the mad rat race that they are running and irrespective of the the technological advancement humanity today is at a loss to understand the results of playing around with nature.
The mysteries of nature, Covid -19 which has forced human lock down may be to reclaim its own space, has in the process threatened the very existence of the industry which survived by showing its wonders and building the hospitality fabric around this show business called the hospitality industry! The hospitality industry has always thrived and worked 24x7; 365 days for ages, serving, growing and nurturing the art and science of dealing with human race and the society, is today faced with the question of pay-back time!
It is this need and the responsibility which our sector and our city is handling so beautifully that we are all proud of, “what India thinks today, Bengal has actioned yesterday!” The City of Joy has this bug of sensitivity in it’s very DNA, which is most visible in our Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee, always leading from the front and showing the best example of selfless service.
Therefore we rose up to the occasion and answered the call and cause initiated by the Department of Tourism Government of West Bengal, spear headed by the MD , WBTDC Mr. Kaushik Bhattacharya lAS, along with the Department of Health through the Secretary Mr. Soumitro Mohan IAS, Sumit Chakaraborty Director CII, and the brilliant role played by HRAEI, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India of which I am an executive committee member, coming into action quickly through the swift move by its secretary Mr. Sudesh Poddar, Mr. T S Walia and President Mr. Pranav Singh.
A core group was quickly formed and all the member hotel owners were contacted to rise up and come forth to give a helping hand while the Government is preparing to face the eventualities of this crisis building up, the industry has always shown the grit and followed the path of responsible corporate citizen and have always supported the society that sustains us. It’s time again to prove ourselves to be a body that cares and returns and supports the society from where we have been taking for ages! The simple communication to the members was:
“In wake of Covid -19, we had discussion with the Department of Tourism along with the Department of Health, and we need to come forward to help the Department of Health to fight this threat of Covid -19. We have been asked to request all our hotel owner members to come forth and allocate rooms in their hotel for the purpose of self-isolation, self-quarantine of the large number of people returning home from various countries.” We have been able to get 550+ rooms allocated in our various member hotels to meet the challenges of this crisis ..
Yes, We care! The Hospitality Industry cares! And together we shall fight back!
