The 61st Annual General Meeting of the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India, the strongest forum of the hospitality industry of the region, with twelve member states and one union territory, was held on September 21, 2022 in The Park Hotel, Kolkata.
Sudesh Poddar, a leader of the industrial body with properties in Dibrugarh (Assam), Kolkata (West Bengal), was re-elected as the President of HRAEI for the year 2022-2023.
Mr Poddar’s efficient leadership reached great heights in the past 8 years, especially during the period of lockdown due to Covid-19. When the hotel industry was going through its worst crisis since India’s independence, Mr Poddar led delegations to chief ministers, government bodies, bureaucrats and other forums with appeals to rescue the sector from acute financial strife. He organised hygiene drives across the region and helped people suffering from the pandemic by converting many hotel rooms to offer care and succour to patients in association with big hospitals. He also arranged Covid vaccination for Hospitality workers and their families with co-ordination with West Bengal Government.
The team led by Mr Poddar has stalwarts like T.S. Walia, the Past President FHRAI, Md. Azhar as Senior-Vice president, Aneel Goenka as Vice-President, Pranav Singh as Honorary Secretary, Mr. Amit Ruia as Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Sandeep Sehgal as Joint Honorary Secretary and H.S. Bagga as Joint Honorary Treasurer.
