Goutam Deb On 2-day Visit To Darjeeling, Kalimpong

Amitava Banerjee | 4 March 2017: Goutam Deb, Minister in Charge of Tourism, Government of Bengal arrived at Darjeeling on Saturday on a two-day visit to Darjeeling and Kalimpong. While in Darjeeling, Minister Deb visited the famous tourist spot Tiger Hill, 12 km away from Darjeeling town, to survey the ongoing construction of tourist cottages.

"Tiger Hill is a famous sunrise spot. People from all over the globe visit this spot. If we could provide accommodations for the tourists here, they would not have to rush to Tiger Hill in the wee hours of the morning. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited Tiger Hill a number of times and had instructed to develop this spot as an international tourist destination" stated Deb.

The Tourism department is constructing cottages in the place where a Chalet existed. The Chalet which was constructed in 1916 was torched during the violent Gorkhaland agitation in the 1980s.

"In the first phase, we will construct the cottages. The wooden cottages will be in tune with the natural surroundings. There will be camping and car parking facilities too. In the next phase, we could try to resurrect the golf course which existed earlier" added the Minister.

Talking about his Darjeeling trip, Deb stated: "After coming to power, Mamata Banerjee has been trying to promote Bengal globally in different sectors. She has given a lot of impetus on tourism. The Chief Minister wants us to promote and develop the hills on a war footing. In the tourism sector, we want to give the Darjeeling and Kurseong tourist lodges a facelift; develop new tourist spots along with promoting homestays and rural tourism. Darjeeling and Kalimpong has to be promoted as a package."

The Minister and the Principal Secretary of the Tourism department will be visiting Kalimpong on Sunday.