Price of power: How much is camp Sasikala’s resort bill?

CHENNAI: How much will a stay of more than 200 people, including 100 legislators, for six days and nights at a luxurious beach resort on East Coast Road cost?

There are about 60 rooms of three different types at the Golden Bay beach resort - tranquil rooms costing Rs 5,500 per day, bay view rooms Rs 6,600 per day and paradise suite rooms for Rs 9,900.

Considering that all the rooms were booked at a tariff of Rs 7,000 flat for mass booking, the boarding expenses alone might run up to roughly Rs 25 lakh for six days.

This figure does not include food, water, snacks, fruits and other essential items besides non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. Sources said every night was filled with entertainment programmes to keep the MLAs in high spirits, maybe literally too. If each of these 200 people staying at the resort consumed food and beverage on an average of Rs 2,000 per day, the bill will be another Rs 25 lakh for six days.

All the legislators were shifted to the resort after the meeting on Wednesday night and did not plan a long stay. Sources said the MLAs and those staying at the resort were given new clothes and if a rough estimate that each person staying was given alternative clothing for Rs 1,000 per day, it would cost another Rs 12 lakh for six days.

Besides the basic amenities, the luxurious resort offers 24 hour room service and an array of services like direct dial telephones, two individual balconies with seating and an individual lounge area in every room to entertain visitors. The resort, located near the backwaters, has special facilities for differently abled people, storage facilities and offers many other conveniences.

It might be recalled that chief minister O Paneerselvam, who declared that party general secretary V K Sasikala cannot remove him from the post of party treasurer, had already written to the banks to freeze the AIADMK party bank accounts. It has not been confirmed whether the banks permitted operations of party accounts or blocked them after Panneerselvam's letter.