Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar on Friday exposed a “stay-cum-vaccination plan” at a 5-star hotel, The Lalit. As per the government guidelines, running any such vaccination plan at a hotel is illegal. The incident has come to light at a time when the government is facing a huge vaccine crunch.
“After Mayor Kishori Pednekar came to know through social media that vaccines are being given in packages at the five-star hotel ‘The Lalit’ in Mumbai, she did a surprise inspection at the five-star hotel. She conducted an emergency inspection on 30 May 2021. During the inspection, the mayor noticed that the cold storage containers were not properly maintained. When the mayor asked the hotel managers about this, it was pointed out that the hotel administration is not serious about vaccine safety and the citizens are being vaccinated in violation of all the rules” a release from the mayor’s office said.
The Lalit in Mumbai was offering Covid vaccine packages at more than Rs 3,000. Social media users have criticised the move. The Lalit is accused of asking people to “get vaccinated and rest” at its premises with two packages: ‘Experience 1’ and ‘Experience 2’. The first, priced at Rs 3,500, allows people to rest at a hotel room after the vaccination for three to four hours. The package includes a “set meal” as well. The second package allows those vaccinated to stay at the hotel overnight for Rs 5,000. This includes meals as well. But the pamphlet has made it clear that the offer can be availed only on the day a person gets vaccinated. So people need to carry a valid vaccination certification to “avail the… experience”.
Meanwhile, the mayor pointed out several other irregularities at the hotel. “Cold chains were not maintained in Lalit Hotel. Covid vaccines were stored in home refrigerators. Bottles of water were used as ice bags,” the release said.
When Mayor Pednekar asked the hotel manager about this, she was told that The Lalit has nothing to do with it and the vaccine is being administered through Criticare Hospital. Criticare Hospital has been sanctioned by the Central government. “It doesn’t have much to do with The Lalit,” she was told.
Many hotels in Mumbai and Pune are offering Covid vaccines as part of their packages. Following this, the Centre has directed the states to take action against such hotels.