First swine flu and now Headley’s Pune visit may unnerve foreign tourists, feel realty agents

Real estate agent in Koregaon Park, Imran Sheikh, has at his disposal nearly 40 rooms that are still empty. Sheikh said many agents like him are in a similar spot. This is unprecedented for agents like Sheikh as this is the peak season at the Osho Ashram that sees a minimum of 1,000 foreign tourists coming over between October and February.

This year, agents said the bad news broke out with the swine flu. Now, with the case of Pakistan-born LeT operative David Headley exploding over Osho Ashram in the city, agents here are expecting the police to further shore up the procedure for foreigners.

“This is bad for business. We expect few foreigners to show up. Over the last month, the police strengthened rules for Indian tenants, making it compulsory for either the owner or the clients to present themselves at the police station for verification. We expect the police to start this procedure for foreigners as well,” said Sheikh, who runs the estate agency Big Properties.

A majority of the tourists coming to Osho hunt for budget accommodation through agents who work around the Ashram.

Within the seven-km radius of Osho Ashram, there are countless real estate agents who deal with tourists as between them they have around 1,000 rooms to sub-let. “These days even an autorickshaw driver is a real estate agent,” said Sudhir Garg, an agent who has been working the Osho beat for over 12 years.

... contd.