Hosps stand by B’deshi patients, help them find rooms
Times of India | 24 August 2026
Kolkata: A section of Bangladeshi patients currently in Kolkata are seeking help from hospitals to find accommodation following the closure of scores of hotels where they had been staying. Many scheduled to arrive in the city for treatment have also been frantically calling their hospitals, mostly along E M Bypass, to assist them in finding rooms. The latter have assured them of help.
A cancer patient from Bangladesh, due to get admitted to Ruby General Hospital on Wednesday, is among those who have sought help. “We have assured his family that we will arrange hotel rooms for them. There is a crisis but we are asking them not to defer appointments since most are cancer and cardiac patients. Many are calling to find out about the situation and we have been assuring them of help with room bookings,” said Ruby chief general manager – operations Subhashis Datta.
RN Tagore Hospital (RTIICS) intensivist Sauren Panja has been receiving calls and messages from multiple Bangladeshi patients who are due to visit. “They have been sending WhatsApp messages asking if they can find accommodation. I have been advising the more seriously ill patients to come seek accommodation help from our hospital. The rest are being advised to continue medication and wait till the situation improves,” said Panja.
The hospital is not deferring any admission, though. Instead, it has activated a help desk to assist Bangladeshi patients to find lodgings in a nearby hotel. “Patients are being able to find suitable accommodation near our facilities without major difficulty. Our dedicated patient service desk is available to assist patients and attendants with treatment-related support,” said Narayana Hospitals Group COO R Venkatesh.
With scores of central Kolkata hotels and guest houses shut following the Free School Street blaze, many boarders have been forced to move to the Mukundapur area, which has hotels and guest houses around hospitals. They are filling up now, prompting some hospitals to look for accommodation in other areas.
“Our patients prefer to stay in the Mukundapur area, close to the hospital. But they could be full in the next one week or so unless the central Kolkata hotels reopen. We are ready to assist patients find guest houses in nearby areas,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra. The hospital has been receiving 70-80 Bangladeshi patients a day at the OPD.
Other hospitals, too, are ready to follow. A vast majority of BP Poddar Hospital patients from Bangladesh generally prefer to stay in the vicinity, where a number of accommodation options are still available, said Supriyo Chakrabarty, group adviser, BP Poddar Hospital.
“Our OPD footfall and daily IPD admissions are currently in line with their normal average. Some patients and their families are anxious about accommodation, and our teams are guiding them towards available options in the surrounding areas,” he said.