Cancer patients left homeless in Kolkata

Bangladeshi cancer patients and their relatives travelling to Kolkata for treatment are being forced to sleep on pavements after a fire-safety crackdown shut scores of budget hotels and guesthouses, leaving many unable to afford the limited rooms still available.

The closures have hit hardest around Thakurpukur, a major medical
hub where patients from Bangladesh and across West Bengal seek cancer treatment.

The crackdown followed a major fire at the Shikha Inn hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata’s New Market area.

Authorities subsequently stepped up inspections and issued closure notices to hotels, guesthouses and lodges in New Market, Thakurpukur and Mukundapur over inadequate fire-safety arrangements.

For many Bangladeshi families travelling to Kolkata on limited budgets, the closures have left few affordable alternatives.

Hotels that remain open are in some cases charging three times their previous rates or more, patients and relatives said.

With nowhere to stay, relatives of patients have been sleeping or sitting beside roads and on pavements near hospitals, their luggage and medicines piled beside them.

The monsoon has compounded the hardship, exposing them to rain, mosquitoes and the risk of dengue and malaria.

Many also lack regular access to bathing and toilet facilities and have to depend on hospitals for basic amenities.

The situation is particularly difficult for cancer patients recovering from chemotherapy, who require adequate rest.

Traffic, horns and other noise along busy roads make it difficult for them to sleep and recover, relatives said.

Khursid Alam, from Jashore in Bangladesh, travelled to Thakurpukur with his family for his mother-in-law’s cancer treatment.

After the patient was admitted to hospital, the family was unable to find another hotel after being asked to leave their previous accommodation because it was due to close.

“We spend the day at the hospital with the patient and come back to the street at night,” Khursid said. “We do not know how long we will have to live like this.”

Bangladeshis are not the only people affected. Patients and relatives arriving from districts across West Bengal are also struggling to find affordable accommodation.

Dulal Das, from East Midnapore, said his son was undergoing cancer treatment.

While his son remained in hospital, Das said he had been forced to spend nights on the pavement after failing to find a place to stay.

Mohammad Pavel, from Satkhira in Bangladesh, travelled to Thakurpukur for his mother’s treatment.

“There is no room available at any hotel nearby. We have to spend night after night sitting or sleeping on the pavement,” he said.

The closures come as Kolkata authorities seek to tighten fire-safety standards following the hotel blaze.

But the measures have created an unintended burden for medical tourists, particularly those from Bangladesh who traditionally rely on inexpensive hotels and guesthouses close to hospitals.

Bangladeshis make up a significant share of overseas patients seeking treatment in Kolkata, where medical facilities have long attracted people from neighbouring Bangladesh because of geographical proximity and established treatment links.

For families already facing the cost of cancer treatment, transport and medicines, the sharp rise in accommodation costs is adding another financial strain.

The immediate challenge for authorities is to balance stricter fire-safety enforcement with the need to ensure affordable, safe accommodation for patients and their caregivers.