PRS Oberoi laments Kolkata’s lack of real development

After Ratan Tata, it’s now the turn of EIH Hotels Chairman PRS Oberoi, to punch a hole in Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal Government’s development claims. EIH is the owner of Oberoi chain of luxury hotels.

“I feel sad when I come back. The city is deteriorating. No real development is taking place,” the 89-year-old hotelier said in a press conference following the company’s AGM in Kolkata on Wednesday.

EIH owns the iconic Oberoi Grand in the Chowringhee area, once referred as

Sahib Para . This was the first major hotel acquired by M S Oberoi, PRS’s father, a few years before Independence. EIH is now expanding the hotel capacity by 50 rooms at a cost of ₹100 crore.

In 2014, Ratan Tata, then Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, remarked that industrial development eludes Bengal. Responding to it, West Bengal Industry Minister Amit Mitra accused Tata of suffering from ‘old age-’related ‘delusion’.

PRS didn’t explain much about his impressions of the city. But he did make a reference of squatters occupying the once- prestigious Grand Arcade and the entire Esplanade area about which, he also informed the city Mayor Sovan Chatterjee.

Happening place

When Kolkata was the second biggest city of the British Raj, Chowringhee, then referred to as Esplanade, was the most happening place in the country. All major theatre groups held their shows here, after London, before travelling down far East .

The glorious days of Chowringhee continued till about the end of 1980’s or early 1990’s, when Esplanade was the hub of premium cinemas and marketing (at the nearby New Market). Most of the halls now stand closed. And for last 10 odd years, the entire area went to the control of squatters or ‘hawkers.’

The Grand Arcade that has the best of the book stores, antique shops, photography studios along with top brands, is barely visible. Even walking is a challenge on this extra-wide pavement, as hawkers occupied majority of the space.

“The main streets are full of hawkers. It is impossible to buy something from the Grand Arcade now. The shopkeepers are complaining. I wrote a letter to the Mayor, but there is no response,” he said.

Calls to the mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) went unanswered. Debabrata Majumder, member mayor-in-council who deals with hawker-eviction issues, expressed ignorance about PRS’s communication.

“We are not in favour of hawker-eviction as it has a socio-economic impact,” he said.