The Hindu Business Line : Colaba wears a deserted look

A street where one is used to seeing foreign nationals looking at handicrafts from Gujarat, shawls from Kashmir and goodies from native Maharashtra, has been empty for two long days now.

In fact, an Arab Sheikh escorted by two janitors of a nearby hotel looking for a taxi to the airport is unthinkable at other times, but it happened on Friday.

Police vans, rushing media persons and a few onlookers is what the otherwise busy street of Colaba looked like. The gloom enveloped famous eating joints like Delhi Durbar, Alibaba Clay Oven, Café Mondegar, Café Leopold, you name it…all shutters down.

The small hotels around the ill-fated Taj Mahal Palace Hotel have also had it bad. With no enquiries happening, the business for the entire coming season is shut. These two- to three-star category hotels around Taj are generally hot favourites with backpackers and tourists on shoe-string budgets.

“There has been no enquiry for the last two days. All the rooms are empty. People are calling up everyday to cancel their Christmas and New Year bookings,” said Mr Azad, Manager with Hotel Causeway. This 20-room hotel had rooms priced around Rs 2,000 during the peak season. Two South African female guests put up at Hotel Suba Palace told Business Line, they came to India on Sunday and have been stuck in the hotel since Thursday.

“We came to India to celebrate my mother’s 60th birthday,” pointing towards her mother who sat down on hotel stairs sweating profusely. “We went out shopping to Crawford Market but rushed back hearing rumours of firing around CST station. We just want to leave the city now, hope our flight takes off tomorrow,” the middle-aged woman said.

One of the lesser affected hotels in the vicinity seems to be Hotel Apollo, which has 40 rooms. Front Office manager, Mr Ramesh, of the three-star hotel said, “We are having occupancy level of 50 per cent currently. Before the crisis unfolded 75 per cent of our rooms were occupied.”

Few of those rescued from Taj hotel have moved into this hotel, the manager said. “They have occupied three rooms. They have not come out since yesterday (Thursday). We have been instructed not to disturb them or let the media speak to them.” Unfortunately, all the three – an Australian and two British nationals – have left their passports behind at the Taj. It was informed that they are in touch with their embassies for duplicate passports.

Moreover, three rooms in the hotel have been booked by the staff of a TV news channel, said the manager. Most TV channels covering the event have called in teams from other centres to report at ground zero.

Two German nationals Mr Daniel Oserhoff and Mr Klaas-Tido Ruehl had come to India for a holiday and would be leaving the country on Sunday. The Germans, PhD scholars of Information Technology and Mathematics, decided to be indoors in the comforts of their white cane chairs and having Pepsi. However, undeterred by the incidents around them Mr Ruehl, said, “I don’t think this has anything to do with the image of India. I have come twice earlier. We went to Jerusalem last week and believe me, the situation is much worse!”

“It’s happening everywhere,” said Mr Oserhoff. They are put up at Moti Mahal International Hotel in Colaba. The owner of the hotel said, “We are having a bad time. Room occupancy is as good as nil. Business has been hit badly.”

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