Heritage pol houses attract NRI tourists,compete with hotels

Ahmedabad,however,has a limited number of pol houses,which are presently being offered for temporary accommodation to tourists.

Debashish Naik,Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Heritage Programme Advisor,said: “The interest to stay in heritage houses is really high but we have very few options for renting purpose. The concept is catching up among the NRIs. This is still at an informal level.”

Only those heritage pol houses can be offered for commercial purposes whose restoration work has been finished. An estimated 20- 25 pol houses in Ahmedabad are presently offering hotel-like services.

Apart from that,only a few restored houses have the kind of accommodation that will attract NRIs.

Nayak said that while pol houses provide a very different experience of stay,restoring of more houses is required. “For the purpose of making these structures desirable,we are concentrating more on upgrading the toilets during the restoration. Although it is the first step,pol houses will have a huge demand in future and will compete with hotels as well,” he added.