Darjeeling Mall makeover takes off

Darjeeling: The DGHC has started revamping the Mall and the first phase of the Rs 9 crore project for Darjeeling’s famous promenade is expected to be completed in five months.

Nearly Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned for the first phase which includes an amphitheatre and landscaping the park where it will come up. Dismantling the band stand or the “hawa ghar” for an unhindered view of the mountains will be part of the second phase of the makeover.

P.R. Mehta, an architect from Delhi, has been hired as a consultant for the project.

“The entire revamp will be taken up in two phases. During the first phase, the park will be renovated,” said Anil Verma, the administrator of the DGHC.

The revamp of the Mall, with a daily footfall of 1,000 in peak seasons, has probably been propelled by Mamata Banerjee’s announcement to turn Darjeeling into Switzerland. In November, the state government had brought in RITES to draw up a comprehensive tourism master plan for the Queen of Hills.

But the Mall overhaul is a wholly DGHC initiative. The amphitheatre with a seating arrangement for 300 people will be set up at Brabourne Park.

“Work has just started and we expect to complete the project within the next four to five months. The open-air theatre in the park will have a very comfortable seating arrangement for about 250-300 people. The lighting arrangement in the park and its landscape will also be worked out. Green rooms and lavatories will also come up,” said Verma.

He said Rs 2 crore had been sanctioned for the first phase of the project. “Work has started as per chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s earlier announcement for the need for an integrated development plan for Chowrastha (or the Mall),” said Verma.

Brabourne Park is not a favourite with tourists. Darjeeling has around 3.5 lakh domestic tourists annually and another 50,000 foreign visitors. “During the peak season, almost 2,000 tourists arrive in Darjeeling town every day. Of them, 1,000 tourists can be found in the Mall in the afternoon,” said a tour operator.

The park turns slushy during monsoons. The DGHC under Subash Ghisingh had constructed a much-hyped musical fountain in the park for Rs 20 lakh in 2006. The fountain needed 10,000 gallons of water to function. But with the Darjeeling municipality unable to supply potable water to its residents, the fountain was bound to go dry and it stopped working after a year.

Last year, after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha replaced the GNLF at the Darjeeling municipality, the steel seating arrangement in front of the fountain was dismantled and a martyr’s column was erected in the park.

The estimate for developing the Mall has been pegged around Rs 8-9 crore. “The proposal had been sent to the Centre based on the GTA agreement. Till the grants arrive, DGHC will fund the project,” said Verma. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement has provision for allocating funds for hill tourism.

During the second phase, the “hawa-ghar”— the concrete structure where the bands, specially that belonging to the police have been playing since the colonial era — will be dismantled. “The hawa-ghar is obstructing the panoramic view of the hills and the designers have decided to do away with it. Instead, proper seating facilities will be made, though we will retain the old wooden benches that are here. The lighting system will also be improved,” said Verma.

Earlier, the Darjeeling Police used to operate an electronic temperature board at the tourist assistance booth at the Mall. It was a huge hit among tourists and locals but it stopped functioning more than two years ago. The police have also stopped playing instrumental music in the Mall through its music system.

Source: The Telegraph

Hills join plains in road complaint

Kalimpong, Sept. 2: Transporters in the hills have threatened to join hands with their counterparts in the plains over the poor road condition.

The far-flung areas of Kalimpong subdivision bordering the Dooars, however, continue to be affected by the three-day bus strike in the plains.

The Janmukti Chalak Mahasangh, which is affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said the condition of NH31A that links Kalimpong with Siliguri had become so bad that driving on it was fraught with danger.

“We want the authorities in charge of maintaining the highway to carry out immediate restoration work, failing which, we will be forced to call a transport strike,” said T.D. Bhutia, the president of the Mahasangh.

However, before taking a decision on the strike, the Mahasangh plans to meet Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, who is currently in the hills, and urge him to take up the matter with the Union transport ministry in Delhi so that the restoration is done on a war footing.

“We will seek Singh’s advice before going ahead with our plans,” said Bhutia.

Two different agencies are in charge of maintaining the highway. While the national highway division of the state PWD maintains the 22-km stretch (NH31) between Siliguri and the Coronation Bridge at Sevoke, the Border Roads Organisation looks after NH31A that runs from the bridge to Sikkim.

Both the agencies blame the monsoon for the delay in carrying out the road repair.

While rain-triggered landslides that occur regularly at different points along NH31A is a major contributory factor in damaging the road, the abysmal condition of the stretch between Siliguri and Sevoke is primarily because of negligence and shoddy restoration work, drivers allege.

“The major portion of the Siliguri-Sevoke stretch is in the plains, which means barring rains, there is no other adverse nature interference. But those looking after its maintenance are so callous that the road does not even last a rainy season after every repair,” said a driver.

In the Gorubathan block of the subdivision that borders the Dooars, the ongoing bus strike is beginning to hit the local people, especially schoolchildren from neighbouring Damdim and Malbazar, which are in Jalpaiguri district.

“Almost 40 per cent of our 2,000-odd students come from these areas. However, because of the bus strike, the overall attendance in our school has come down by as much as 30 per cent,” said Sanjay Ghisingh, a teacher of Judhabir Higher Secondary School in Gorubathan.

Villagers from the block, including places as far as Jholung, Jaldhaka and other villages bordering Bhutan, said the cost of travel had gone up for them as they were forced to take smaller vehicles to commute at more than double the fare.

“Our greatest fear is if the strike continues for longer period, the prices of essential commodities will start going up,” said Dal Bahadur Rai, a villager from the area.

Source: The Telegraph

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