Dip in temperatures nurturing hopes of snowfall in Darjeeling

SNS, Darjeeling, 25 December 2013: Temperatures dipping to a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius in Darjeeling has not only aroused hopes of snowfall soon, but also tourists have increasingly started to flock in, points the tour operators.
In addition, the ongoing Darjeeling tea and tourism festival that kicked off yesterday being held at Chowrasta has been an added boost.
Today, on the occasion of celebrating Christmas, Chowrasta was flocked with the tourists.
The commercial lane was set with lights and decorations all the way towards Chowrasta where songs and dance here continued till eight in the evening.
"It is the number of domestic tourists in maximum flow,” said on of the tour operators.
It can be mentioned here that the number is comparatively low than earlier years.
“It can be said that tourist flow in Darjeeling is slowly recovering,” he added.
Notwithstanding Christmas today and upcoming New Year, many tourists had made pre-bookings just to spend the Christmas and New Year in Darjeeling with the hope that Darjeeling would soon witness a snowfall, points the hoteliers.
Though it is yet to snow, the cold winter charm of Darjeeling has itself added a sweetest flavour to the Christmas today for all the tourists and locals celebrating the occasion.
Mr RK Chaudhury from Calcutta Salt Lake who spends his holidays almost every year during the winter said: "This years Christmas celebration in Darjeeling stands very unique. I come here almost every year during winters and yet this year me and my family enjoyed it much than before. I hope it snows in Darjeeling soon."
It can be mentioned here that Darjeeling last witnessed snowfall on 11 January 2012 at Tiger Hill and few flakes at Ghoom and Jorebuglow with temperatures dipping to 1 to 2 degrees Celsius.
Notably, in earlier years, the ongoing agitation with the statehood demand with strikes had brought a major downfall in the flow of tourism. Also, the recent agitation had brought about a downfall of at least 75 per cent in the flow of domestic tourists.
But with the political leaders now vowing peace and with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) starting to function normally, the peaceful environment has been resettled in the Hills, which has been one of the main reasons for the recovery of tourism in Darjeeling.