After rainwater, people in Bengaluru face rise in hotel rates
‘Hotels have doubled room rent, no more rooms till weekend’
Bengaluru: Even as people in parts of the city struggle to survive the incessant downpour and floods, some hotels have gone ahead and raised the charges for their rooms.
The star hotels in Bengaluru are charging two to three times the regular fare for a room. The rates for rooms in deluxe hotels, which had been Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 a day, have risen to Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 a day.
This has put many families in the city in a dilemma. People who can afford to book a hotel room to stay till the rainwater subsides are also struggling to pay the rent due to the hike.
A family of four people booked a room in a star hotel since their house in Yamalur was inundated. The family had to pay Rs 42,000 for one night, said Meena Girishballa, CEO and manager, PurpleFront Technologies.
Some families had initially decided to shift to the first floors of their respective villas till the water level subsided. “Unfortunately for us, the electricity connection collapsed, making things all the more difficult for us. The only solution at hand was to stay in a hotel room till the situation gets better. The room fare was not a worry when we decided to move to a hotel,” said a citizen.
Many families in residential complexes are willing to pay the new rates for the rooms, but they find that no more rooms in hotels are available for booking.
When contacted, managers of hotels in areas like Whitefield, Outer Ring Road, Old Airport Road and Koramangala said that their rooms had already been booked till Friday.
A third problem with hotels now for families in inundated places is that many hotel managers do not let the guests bring in pets to their rooms. The guests are also charged extra for the permission to keep pets with them.
“Our families are in a desperate situation with regard to stay,” said the residents.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
