60 passengers of first repatriation flight to Kolkata opt for hotel quarantine

Nearly 60 people who have

returned to Kolkata from Dhaka on Monday in the first repatriation flight opted to stay in hotels for their mandatory 14-day quarantine, officials said.

A total of 169 passengers - students, elderly people, stranded tourists, those having medical exigencies and a pregnant woman - have come to the city in the flight.

The state government has arranged for pay-and-use quarantine facilities in four and five star hotels for those returning to the city by repatriation flights as part of the Centres Vande Bharat mission.

"Out of the 169 people, 60 opted to stay in hotels for the mandatory quarantine," said MSME secretary Rajesh Pandey who is coordinating these flights.

 

He said that the other passengers had opted for government quarantine

To a query, Pandey said the timing of the next repatriation flight is not yet known.

President of Hotels and Restaurants Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) Sudesh Poddar had said earlier that 785 rooms in 11 four and five star category hotels have been arranged for stay for those coming from overseas.

The hotels have offered hefty discounts to the tune of 50 to 60 per cent for the stay and the charge would include all the meals and evening tea.

If needed, more rooms can be arranged, he said.