COVID-19 Good Samaritans: Keeping Kashmir Safe, Why Shah Abbas Hotel On Dal Lake Is Heaven

In this hour of direst need, all, barring one, shrank when a sacrifice was sought. As Kashmiri students from different countries, mostly Bangladesh, started returning to Srinagar in mid-March following the coronavirus outbreak, the government approached different hotels in Srinagar, asking them to house them for the mandatory 14-day quarantine. As expected, the owners refused, conjuring a deadly cocktail of contamination and future loss of business. The popular Centaur Hotel, for example, cited risk to staff, who lodged a pre-emptive protest. All except one man--45-year-old hotelier Irshad Mirza, who put his hand up and asked the government to use his property.

바카라�I told them my hotel is available,바카라� says Mirza, who owns Shah Abbas hotel on Srinagar바카라�s Dal Lake. 바카라�If the virus can be contained due to quarantine and other isolation measures, it will save Kashmir; if Kashmir is safe, my family is safe,바카라� reasons Mirza lucidly. His offer was gratefully accepted.

바카라�After the first batch had completed quarantine in my hotel, I told the administration they can continue to use the facility for the same purpose,바카라� Mirza says. He scoffs at other hoteliers바카라� argument that this would devalue the property, pointing to examples in Italy and Spain where hundreds of hotel rooms were converted into isolation wards.

Mirza바카라�s noble gesture was quickly acknowledged and Srinagar deputy commissioner Shahid Choudhary took to twitter thus: 바카라�Tiger zinda hai!! Let바카라�s clap for Mr Irshad who came all the way to offer keys of his hotel to help us바카라�.

Established in 1982, Shah Abbas is one of Srinagar바카라�s well-known hotels with 88 well-furnished rooms. 바카라�We handed over all our rooms and provided our usual service to the students,바카라� Mirza discloses.

That Mirza proved an inspiration became apparent when other hoteliers across Kashmir offered their facilities for quarantine. Even in picturesque Pahalgam, hoteliers followed Mirza바카라�s lead. Indeed, a senior official says Mirza showed the way and 바카라�helped erase misconceptions about the virus바카라�.

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COVID-19 Good Samaritans: Keeping Kashmir Safe, Why Shah Abbas Hotel On Dal Lake Is Heaven

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