Kolkata traders want to sell goods to Bangladeshis at fair prices

After a long two years, New Delhi has finally announced the resumption of Indian tourist visas for Bangladeshi nationals. Welcoming the decision, traders in the so-called ‘mini Bangladesh’ area of ​​Kolkata have made an unprecedented announcement to keep the prices of goods and services reasonable and fair for Bangladeshi tourists. According to the traders, restoring the trust and confidence of buyers is more important now than recovering the business losses of the last two years in one fell swoop.

Soon after the announcement of the tourist visa by Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi, there has been a new hope among the owners of hotels, restaurants, retail shops and foreign exchange offices in the Marquis Street, Suder Street, Free School Street, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and Colin Street areas of Kolkata. This entire commercial area is heavily dependent on visitors from Bangladesh.

The decision was taken at a joint meeting of stakeholders from Kolkata's hospitality, transport, foreign exchange and trade sectors recently. This change in mindset of traders is being seen as a positive and significant step after the severe economic downturn that has been going on for almost two years. Although the news of the visa launch has created a positive atmosphere in the market, traders have made it clear that at this time they do not want to drive away tourists by charging extra prices or fares. Because currently, Bangladeshi tourists have multiple alternative routes open to travel to other countries.

In this context, Haider Ali Khan, General Secretary of the Free School Street Traders Association, said that they have all faced serious losses in the last two years, but this is not the time to think about making up for that loss overnight. If tourists come and see that they are getting the right services and products at a fair price, they will return to Kolkata again and again and encourage others to come too. This long-term reputation and goodwill is much more valuable than short-term financial gains.

The same tone was heard in the voice of Afaq Shamim, assistant secretary of the Calcutta Hotels, Guest Houses and Restaurants Owners Association. He said that they are warmly welcoming Bangladeshi tourists to Kolkata and are assuring them of the best service at fair prices as in the past. Their main goal is to build a long-term relationship that is beneficial for both parties.

It is worth noting that in 2024, Indian tourist visas were suspended after the political change and instability in Bangladesh. As a result, business and commerce in this area of ​​​​Calcutta collapsed. The rent of hotel rooms, which used to be around Rs 2,000 per night, was forced to reduce it to Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 due to the tourist crisis. Even then, about 75 percent of the rooms in the hotels remained vacant.

Similarly, business in the famous New Market area of ​​​​Calcutta was also severely affected, where a large part of the sales came from Bangladeshis. According to estimates by local business associations, this ‘mini Bangladesh’ area alone has suffered a loss of more than Rs 1,000 crore in the last two years.

After overcoming the shock of this huge loss, the main goal of the businessmen of the 'Mini Bangladesh' region is now not only to expand the scope of their business, but also to establish Kolkata as an affordable, safe and friendly tourist destination once again.

Source: Times of India.