KOLKATA: Hostels and paying guest accommodations across Kolkata, which thrived on thousands of students from the districts and neighbouring states enrolling in city colleges and coaching institutes before the pandemic, are witnessing huge losses and many are even contemplating shutting business.
Almost all students returned to home soon after the lockdown in March resulting in a mass exodus from these students’ accommodation located near clusters of colleges and other institutes of higher education. There is no hope of students returning to the city anytime soon with the government making it clear that on-campus classes are unlikely to resume anytime soon.
With several students from the districts, the north-eastern region and other eastern states taking admission in Kolkata colleges or coaching centres, many owners had invested heavily in furnishing their hostels and PG accommodations adding facilities like air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, recreational areas and even furnished kitchens.
“I have not had a single student staying in the hostel since the lockdown in March. Almost all of them have informed that they will not be returning at least till middle of 2021 which smashes hopes of a revival. I had invested lakhs to furnish the place in 2018, but I don’t know what to do now because I cannot even let it out as a showroom or an apartment,” said Sushil Gupta, who converted two floors of his house in Chakraberia North into a hostel for almost 16 students. “I continue to pay the EMIs for the facilities that I had installed,” he added.
These hostels and PG accommodations stand to lose rental income for almost the entire academic session and beyond. Demand for hostel and PG accommodation starts around April-May when the admission in colleges and coaching centres begin. But since education institutions have switched to online teaching, there has been no demand for the rooms.
Hostel and PG accommodation would cost anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 per month depending on the neighbourhood, amenities and connectivity. “Till March 2020, I was earning around Rs 1.8 lakh from 22 students staying in my facility. However, since April, I have not earned even Rs 1,000 because students are attending online classes from home,” said the owner of a hostel in Rajarhat, who converted a three-storied building into a students’ accommodation.
Most hostels and PG accommodations are situated around the clusters of educational institutes in Jadavpur, Bikramgarh, Bhowanipore, Hazra and Kyd Street in south Kolkata, Girish Park, Maniktala and Bowbazar in north Kolkata, Salt Lake and New Town.