The flow of Bangladeshi patients travelling to Kolkata for medical treatment has continued to decline nearly a month after a deadly guest house fire on Free School Street killed nine people, including seven Bangladeshis.
Several hospitals across the city have reported a drop in Bangladeshi patients, with some seeing numbers fall by 30 per cent to 40 per cent compared with the period before the fire.
The fire broke out on 19 August at Shikha Inn, a guest house on Free School Street that also housed several other lodging establishments.
Following the incident, authorities launched a crackdown and issued closure notices to more than 100 guest houses in central Kolkata and other areas where Bangladeshi patients and their attendants traditionally stayed.
The closures have made affordable accommodation difficult to find for patients and their families, affecting medical travel from Bangladesh, hospital authorities said.
At Ruby General Hospital, the number of Bangladeshi patients has fallen sharply. Subhashish Datta, a representative of the hospital’s BP Poddar Hospital unit, said only four Bangladeshi patients were currently admitted.
He said the hospital’s outpatient department (OPD) had also witnessed a decline, with daily Bangladeshi patients falling from around 40 until mid-August to around 20 now.
“The decline could be linked to a lack of confidence among patients and their families about travelling to Kolkata under the present circumstances,” Datta said.
BP Poddar Hospital recently sent a team to Bangladesh to interact with patients. The hospital said its OPD numbers from Bangladesh had dropped from around 10 to 11 a day to five or six.
Hospital authorities said accommodation had become one of the biggest challenges following the closure of several lodges over fire-safety concerns. Many Bangladeshi patients and their families traditionally stayed in central Kolkata hotels close to medical facilities.
The hospital has been helping patients find accommodation in south Kolkata, although the response has not yet met expectations.
Desun Hospital has also recorded a decline in Bangladeshi patients. It received around 500 new patients from Bangladesh over the past month, about 15 per cent lower than usual.
However, hospital officials said patient flow remained steady and there were signs of recovery.
Dr Sajal Dutta, chairman and managing director of Desun Hospital, said its international help desk continued to assist Bangladeshi patients in finding suitable accommodation within two kilometres of the hospital.
Peerless Hospital has also been helping patients arrange accommodation. Its CEO Sudipta Mitra said the hospital had not seen any major decline in Bangladeshi patients despite the fire.
At RN Tagore Narayana Hospital, the impact has been relatively limited. The hospital has been receiving around 60 to 70 Bangladeshi OPD patients daily in recent months and arranging alternative accommodation near the hospital, away from the EM Bypass area.
Hospital authorities said Bangladeshi OPD attendance had previously been around 180 patients a day until 2024. Although current numbers remain lower, they said patient flow had gradually improved over the past six to nine months.
R Venkatesh, Group COO of Narayana Health, said OPD visits from Bangladesh increased by more than 6 per cent in the previous month, indicating continued confidence among patients in the hospital’s medical services.
The hospital currently receives around 250 Bangladeshi patients at its OPD every day, according to officials.
The Free School Street fire and subsequent guest house closures have affected Kolkata’s medical tourism from Bangladesh, but hospital authorities said patient movement had not stopped completely.
They believe restoring access to safe and affordable accommodation will be crucial to bringing Bangladeshi patient flow back to normal.
