Darjeeling makes merry as holidays bring back tourists in hordes

Deep Gazmer, TNN | Dec 28, 2017, DARJEELING: The sudden arrival of tourists on Christmas eve drove the gloom away from Darjeeling. As though in reciprocation, the GTA announced a slew of sops for tourists, including waiving off entrance fees to all tourist spots in the town and turning key hubs into free Wi-Fi zones.

Tourists thronged Chowrasta, the hub for the fiveday Teesta Rangit Tourism Festival, which began on Monday. As artists performed dances and sang a Nepali version of the immortal Beetles number 'Imagine', tourists clicked away merrily and sent photographs back home, making full use of the free Wi-Fi facility.

Artists from the Himalayan Cine Guild performed in Shruberry Park, while GTA's cultural troupe danced to 'Chaiya Chaiya' atop a platform attached to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, as it chugged to Ghoom and back.

The festival was kicked off with a marathon in which the son of Everester Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, participated with a torch from Ghoom to Chowrasta and lit the a makeshift cauldron replicating the Olympics.

After the inauguration, GTA chairman Binay Tamang announced the fee waiver to tourist spots and suggested the Sidrapong Hydroelectric Power Station — India's first such project — be granted a heritage status.

The announcement of fee waiver was cheered by the crowd. It'll benefit those visiting Tiger Hill, Gangamaya Park, Rock Garden and Shrubbery Park in and around the town. Even taxis and reserved cars that ferry tourists to these spots won't be charged parking fee.

At the Pavilion at Tiger Hill, tourists had to pay Rs 40 to view the sunrise from the super deluxe floor, Rs 30 for the deluxe floor and Rs 10 for the general floor. Since the Pavilion is now being renovated, tourists are currently being charged a general fee of Rs 20. Taxis are charged Rs 10 if they enter the main gate. While, charges for Gangamaya Park is Rs 20, the charge for Shruberry Park and Rock Garden is Rs 10 each.

Tamang also expressed the need to develop new tourist spots while upgrading the existing ones.