65 homestays raided

KOCHI: In a quick action on the City Express campaign on illegal homestays operating in Fort Kochi, the city police on Wednesday raided 65 unauthorised homestays. The police also served notices on all of them to close down within 24 hours. The raid started on Wednesday morning and continued for the whole day. “All  unauthorised homestays have been given strict orders to close down within 24 hours. Today 65 homestays were given notice and the raids will continue tomorrow also. All the homestays in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry will be inspected and only the ones verified by the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) will be allowed to function,” said N Binoy, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mattancherry. The raid was conducted under the instruction of City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar.City Express had reported on Wednesday about homestays in Fort Kochi that do not follow the guidelines of the DTPC and commercial buildings which were converted into homestays. Many of them were operate in very miserable conditions and are the hub of illegal activities. Auto drivers, who are paid regularly by the homestay owners take the tourists to such places which lack even proper infrastructure. On many travel websites and blogs there are postings by tourists about the pathetic condition of the homestays they had stayed. The illegal homestays were also posing a threat to authorised ones  as the rates offered by the illegal operators are very cheap.  Though it is mandatory that homestays should be run by families and the tourists provided with all the amenities, many of the places offer no such facilities. In Fort Kochi, along with unauthorised homestays, there are several buildings that are being rented and operated as homestays. During the past two years many crimes were reported from illegal homestays. A number of molestation charges were reported from  homestays, the latest being the one filed by a Japanese woman who was assaulted by the owner of the homestay where she was staying.