500 hotels around Tarapith temple complex: Lens on Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority
Times of India | 18 August 2026
Tarapith: The early-morning fire at Hotel Bideshini in Tarapith, which claimed the lives of nine people, including five members of a family from Meghalaya, exposed safety violations across establishments in the temple town.
The hotel turned into a smoke trap following a short circuit in an air-conditioning miniature circuit breaker (MCB) on the ground floor, raising questions on the establishment’s implementation of fire safety norms and Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority’s approval of permits for the 500-odd hotels and lodges in the 2sqkm zone around the Tarapith temple complex, the cremation ground and the surrounding pilgrim market. Junior fire minister Koushik Chowdhury, who held an emergency meeting with hotel owners and the district administration, including TRDA, told reporters: “There are multiple complaints. This is a new govt. We have made it clear that all building clearances, including fire safety, are mandatory. At some places, fire safety gadgets are present but there is no one to operate them. This will not be tolerated.” He added that hotel owners had been instructed on what needed to be done immediately and that the authorities would take stock of the action taken.
Unplanned commercial expansion over the past few years has altered Tarapith. By official estimates, around 500 hotels, guest houses and lodges have mushroomed in and around the town, leading to a strain on the civic infrastructure, generating more municipal waste and altering the ecological balance near the Dwarka river.
Despite the concentration of commercial structures in the congested zone, regulatory compliance remains low. Local authorities pointed out that narrow access lanes hampered emergency operations. Agriculture minister Dudhkumar Mondal, a Birbhum resident, highlighted the bottlenecks encountered by rescuers. “The entry point to the hotel was not very wide. The fire engines faced difficulty in reaching the spot. But once they managed to do so, rescue operations started immediately.”
The disaster has placed the TRDA under public and political scrutiny. Critics alleged the agency permitted multi-storey commercial developments without enforcing mandatory safety standards or conducting regular inspections. Rampurhat MLA Dhruba Saha, who inspected the spot, questioned the development body’s granting of permits. “The hotel is such a massive building, yet there is no fire safety arrangement. They created a veritable death trap. The TRDA approved its construction in exchange for money without checking for fire safety facilities. Who will take responsibility for the loss of so many lives?” Demanding an overhaul of the development authority, Saha added: “The system was already in a shambles. The TRDA should be overhauled.”
Dibyendu Saha, secretary of Tarapith Hotel Owners’ Association, acknowledged the scale of growth in the crowded area. But he claimed most hotels followed fire safety norms. “There are around 500 hotels in and around the Tarapith locality. Most of the hotels follow fire safety norms. I have heard that this hotel, too, had a firefighting system but at that time, it didn’t work. We’ll review the fire safety system at all member hotels,” he said.
The layout of Hotel Bideshini reportedly made rescue difficult. Birbhum SP Vidit Raj Bhundesh pointed out that the exterior of the building was such that passersby could not get any warning sign. “Neither smoke nor flames could be seen from outside,” he said. Movement inside was further restricted by locked escape routes and darkness from power disconnection. “After police and fire brigade teams arrived, 22 people were rescued using ladders. Eleven were sent to the hospital. Nine lost their lives,” said Bhundesh, adding that a forensic team collected samples, while hotel operators were arrested following an FIR.
Pulak Chatterjee, Secretary of the Tarapith Temple Committee, said, “Tarapith police and the fire brigade acted promptly to bring the blaze under control, and many were rescued. But the loss of lives is a deeply tragic incident. As the secretary of the temple committee, offer my condolences to the bereaved families. I urge hotel owners to do business with greater caution.”
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari issued a formal statement outlining executive action: “The state has taken strict measures to find the cause of this tragedy. Those responsible will not be spared, and they will be strictly punished.”