Darjeeling may be deserted this Puja

KOLKATA: Bookings for Darjeeling, once the favourite Puja vacation destination, are finding no takers. The numbers have fallen so low this time that even elite hotels are ready to give away rooms at 50% discount but still cannot find anyone, thanks to the turmoil in the Hills.

Darjeeling is facing an indefinite strike since Sunday evening.

There has been a shift towards North Bengal and Sikkim instead. Hotels and resorts, run by both state corporations and private operators, are overbooked. Tour operators say rush will continue till Diwali. In fact, many tour firms are discouraging people from heading for Darjeeling because they are afraid tourists will get stranded in the Hills and ask for cancellation dues.

State tourism department officials say their guest houses in Darjeeling are "more or less empty" throughout the Pujas. "Last year, the situation was slightly better, perhaps because there was a lull in political turbulence. Not so this time," said an official.

"The general feeling is that Darjeeling is no longer safe for travel. Too much political turbulence make tourists feel uncomfortable about visiting Darjeeling," said Debal Ghosh, spokesperson of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation.

Till a few months ago, there were many inquiries from visitors of other states and foreigners too. But the brutal daylight murder of Madan Tamang on May 21 in an area frequented by tourists slammed the door on bookings. "People feared that it would trigger clashes. They realised that peace in the Hills was gone. Darjeeling still remains close to tourists' heart, but they prefer North Bengal and Sikkim for now," said Anil Punjabi, eastern India chairperson of Travel Agents Federation of India.

From Mahalaya onwards, at least 5,000-7,000 people would flock to Darjeeling daily. This year, not even 5% of that number is going towards the hill station, said Punjabi. "Tourists from Spain, France, Japan and Thailand made up the maximum number of foreigners in Darjeeling. This time, when they are seeing us for bookings, they clearly tell us they they have been asked by their countries not to visit Darjeeling," Punjabi said.

Darjeeling hoteliers did not want to comment directly. "August and September are lean periods anyway and are non-indicative of what might happen during the Pujas," said an official at Windamere. Rakesh Razzak, spokesperson of Anand Palace, said: "We do have some inquiries from within and outside the state. The Pujas are still two months off and we hope things will get better by then."

Source: TNN