Rock Garden to get facelift - Tourist spot renovation lined up

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 8: Bimal Gurung today promised to renovate Rock Garden, a popular tourist spot near Darjeeling that was ravaged by Cyclone Aila in 2009, after several opposition supporters joined the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Rock Garden was built during Subash Ghisingh’s tenure as chairperson of the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and is about 10km from Darjeeling. Ghisingh was at the helm of the DGHC from 1988 to 2008.

Gurung, while handing party flags to GNLF supporters at the party office at Patlabas in Darjeeling today, said: “There were a lot of parties in the area and it was difficult to carry on development activities there because of opposition from various people. Now everyone has united and it will be easy to develop the area. We will now develop Rock Garden and will change its face. We will make it even better.”

Gurung said: “We must admit the Rock Garden was made during Ghisingh’s tenure. But the spot was never maintained properly earlier.”

The Rock Garden before Cyclone Aila damaged it; (below) the garden now. File pictures

M.G. Subba, the convener of GNLF Darjeeling branch committee, said Gurung’s decision to renovate the garden because a “handful of people” had joined his party was “laughable”.

Subba said the party was not bothered with the switchover. “These 30 people are betrayers, people without any principle and those who are only after personal gain.”

Mangesh Rai, who joined the Morcha today, said: “ Ghisingh always kept us in a state of confusion regarding party activities. Now we have decided to support the Morcha and work for the betterment of the Gorkha community.”