MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

LODGING AND BOARDING.

The development of lodging and boarding business has come about with the changes in the socio-economic structure which have taken place in recent times. The main factors responsible are the break-up of the joint family system, the changing food habits and the gradually expanding scope of trade and industry which has made it necessary for people to move about from place to place. The business is lucrative at the educational centres, pilgrim centres, tourist centres, places of commercial importance and district places. Many a time lodging and boarding houses have separate establishments but they are generally  situated closeby. The lodging and boarding houses are gene-  rally situated nearabout prominent places such as bus-stands, railway stations, markets, etc. Almost all the lodging and boarding houses surveyed are run on proprietary basis and are not hereditary in character.

Boarding houses provide food to the customers while lodging houses provide the customers with a place to stay at. Both these services are combined in the case of most of the establishments.

The accessories of a boarding house consist of food-grains, condiments and spices, groundnut oil, vegetable oil and vegetables. In the establishments where non-vegetarian food is served, mutton, fish and eggs are the accessories or raw materials. The consumption of raw materials by every establishment depends upon the clientele that it is able to procure. In the case of lodging houses, many a time they serve the customers with hot water for bath and tea and such other beverages even though they may not provide boarding facilities. In their case the accessories include sugar, milk and other beverages.

The equipment of a boarding house comprises small dining tables, some chairs and benches, dishes, boards and pots of different sizes, utensils for cooking, serving and storing, etc. The equipment of a lodging house consists of a few cots-iron or wooden, few mattresses, pillows, bed-sheets, etc. Due to the small clientele that they get they find it very difficult to provide other amenities such as radio sets, telephone,, etc. Most of the lodging and boarding establishments in the district are either medium or small and their investment ranges between Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,000.

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