No rooms in Prayagraj hotels even as mega event nears end

No rooms in Prayagraj hotels even as mega event nears end

Kapil.Dixit@timesofindia.com 15.02.2025

Prayagraj : Even after completion of five major snans, including three amrit snans of Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami at the ongoing Maha Kumbh there seems to be no space available for occupants in hotels. The coinciding of the ongoing Maha Kumbh and wedding season has puzzled the occupants who are running from pillar to post to get hotel rooms booked. Apart from pre-booking for the Maha Kumbh and wedding season, the majority of hotel room seekers are trying to get space within the city limits, assuming that traffic jams or other problems could play spoilsport in their celebrations if they book hotels in trans-Ganga and trans-Yamunabased hotels or marriage pandals. There are some families who have postponed marriage or other marriage related events till next month. 

For instance, one Sanjay Kumar is taking rounds of hotels to get rooms booked for his son’s marriage. Apart from the availability, the tariffs of hotels, including luxury or budget, guest houses, and paying guest facilities are also giving sleepless nights to seekers. Currently, the tariffs of rooms in hotels located in posh Civil Lines, SP Marg, MG Marg, or the railway station, are quite high since the commencement of the Maha Kumbh, and the majority of rooms in all luxury and budget hotels are booked in advance. 

On Friday, one Rahul and his family from Lucknow were searching for a hotel room with basic amenities and security in all of the city for Feb 22 as they planned to revisit the Maha Kumbh. After an online and offline search, the family found that the rooms were priced high until March 11. He said, “We are looking for affordable rooms as many of our relatives and friends have planned to visit Kumbh. We found the majority of hotel rooms booked in advance and fewer chances of getting affordable rooms.”