With the start of the longest dance festival in the world, Gujarat has NRIs flocking in to enjoy the nine nights of revelry. The heritage houses in the pols of the old cities of the state have emerged as strong contenders for the business drawn by hotels and restaurants.

After a number of heritage pol houses were restored, the annual homecoming of NRIs has triggered a renewed interest among the residents in reviving heritage houses for commercial purposes.

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.