All Tarapith hotels will be shut from Tuesday

KOLKATA/SURI: Following a directive from the National Green Tribunal’s Kolkata bench to close down 235 hotels at Tarapith for polluting the Dwarka river, hundreds of pilgrims will be incovenienced. Hotel owners have decided to shut all Tarapith hotels from Tuesday in protest against the court order.
Birbhum DM PMK Gandhi said he is yet to receive the court’s directive.Gandhi, however, said that NGT’s directive is to be complied with.
“The hotel owners have submitted a memorandum to the SDO of Rampurhat, which we have forwarded to the pollution control board. But we cannot allow any activities contrary to the court’s directives,” he said.
There are over 400 hotels in and around Tarapith. Sukumar Mukherjee, president, Tarapith hotel owners association, said, “We have decided to shut down all hotels in and around Tarapith for an indefinite period from Tuesday. On Wednesday, all the shops at Taparapith will also be closed. Thousands of people will lose their jobs if these hotels are suddenly closed. The boarders will be requested to check out at 12 noon on Tuesday. No new booking will be done and all bookings will be cancelled. We will knock on the Supreme Court’s door against the order.”
Pulak Chatterjee, a member of Tarapith temple Committee said, “We cannot say anything against a court order. The court found enough reason to issue this order. But in this peak season the pilgrims will suffer and hundreds will lose their jobs. If it continues, Tarapith’s economy will be affected as the area is dependent on pilgrims.”
Legal activist Joydeep Mukherjee of All India Legal Aid Forum, who filed the petition complaining about pollution in Tarapith, had also complained about environmental degradation in the absence of an electric crematorium in Tarapith.