Jalpaiguri tourism hub on fast track Sources in forest and tourism departments hint that elephant safari might start in winter

Cottages developed by the state tourism department at Bhorer Alo, the mega tourism hub in Gajoldoba, Jalpaiguri

Sourced by The Telegraph

TT | Jalpaiguri | 10.09.20:  Senior officials of Jalpaiguri district administration and state government departments held a meeting at the district magistrate office here on Wednesday to discuss the progress of ongoing work at the mega tourism hub that the state government has been developing at Gajoldoba, next to the Teesta Barrage.

The hub named “Bhorer Alo” (light of dawn) by chief minister Mamata Banerjee is the largest tourism project taken up by her government in the state.

On Wednesday, a number of decisions were made at the meeting, which include completion of the construction of a youth hostel at the site and a proposed elephant safari in the adjoining forests of the hub to attract tourists.

The site of the hub is surrounded by Baikunthapur forest, one of the prominent reserve forests of north Bengal.

So far, cottages have been developed by the state tourism department and a private company has opened a resort.

Abhishek Kumar Tiwary, Jalpaiguri district magistrate,  said that state tourism minister Gautam Deb had instructed them to expedite the ongoing work at the hub, which is why Wednesday’s meeting was convened.   

“At the meeting, the progress of construction of the youth hostel was discussed. It was also planned to start work on a fire station immediately. On September 16, a team of officials from different departments will visit the site to check the progress of work,” said Jyoti Ghosh, the deputy director of the state tourism department posted in Siliguri. 

The upcoming tourism hub, though in Jalpaiguri district, is only around 25km from Siliguri. 

The state forest department is also installing pulsating fences to deter wild elephants and other animals from entering the hub. 

Rajendra Jakhar, the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north Bengal), who was also at the meeting, said they were ready to send pet elephants to the site.

“Two locations have already been identified for elephant safari. We are looking into the nitty-gritty...The elephant enclosure is also ready but considering the current situation (Covid 19 pandemic), we cannot really say when the safari would start,” said Jakhar.

Sources in the forest and tourism departments, however, hinted that the safari might start in winter.