Darjeeling, Dooars tourist ready this festive season: Goutam Deb

Darjeeling: The Tourism department is all set to ensure a pleasant experience for the tourists visiting the Hills and Dooars during the forthcoming festive season.

Tourism minister Goutam Deb held a meeting with the district administration in Siliguri on Tuesday. "We want the tourists to return home with happy memories. We will ensure that they have a pleasant experience while they are here," stated minister Deb.

The minister will also be holding talks with tour operators, hoteliers and transporters. "We will tell them not to overcharge the tourists," stated Deb. Incidentally, in the past, there have been complaints against tourist vehicles and hotels overcharging during peak tourist seasons.

There will be a police control room monitoring round the clock. A number of help desks will be set up at major transit points in the region. "We will open help desks at New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, Bagdogra Airport and Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus in Siliguri. Along with this help desks will be set up at Malbazar in Dooars," added the Tourism minister. Soon, the minister will hold talks with the top brass of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in Darjeeling. "We have plans to set up similar help desks in Darjeeling and Kalimpong," stated Deb.

The Tourism minister will also hold a similar meeting with the district administration, Jalpaiguri. With Siliguri emerging as the most important transit point for tourists visiting the Hills and Dooars, the minister stressed on presenting a clean and green Siliguri to the tourists.

"We have information that all hotels and home-stays are booked till capacity during the puja tourist season. We will have to ensure that we present a clean Siliguri. We have to ensure that garbage is not dumped on roadsides. The Siliguri Municipal Corporation has to undertake a special drive to present a clean and green Siliguri to the tourists," suggested Deb.

He stated that toilets have to be constructed. The minister also stressed on the need to remove illegal hoardings. "There should be no hoardings in the zones declared as No Hoarding Zones. The Municipal Corporation has to ensure this," added the Minister.

Incidentally, Darjeeling was in the grip of an agitation in 2017. The agitation also included a 104-day long bandh. With the political unrest tourists had stayed away. This had adversely affected the economy of the region with tourism being the economic mainstay of this region.

Finally with peace and normalcy returning to the Hills, Darjeeling and Dooars had experienced a tourism boom during the summer season. This trend is expected to continue during the puja season as well.