Darjeeling: Jamuni tour site opens

 Gorkhaland Territorial Administration spends Rs 50 crore on project

Vivek Chhetri   |   TT   |   Darjeeling   |   29.10.20 : The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration partially opened a tourist site that had been lying in utter neglect for the past three years at Jamuni near here on Wednesday.

The opening was facilitated by local people who had voluntarily cleaned up the spot.

The GTA had already invested Rs 50 crore in the project whose foundation had been laid by Subash Ghisingh as the chairman of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council with the inauguration of Happy New Year Bridge on January 1, 2006.

As the GTA chief executive, Bimal Gurung pursued it as the hill body’s pet project.

On Wednesday, boating was launched on the lake on the site.

Asked about the general feeling of neglect of the place, Suraj Sharma, assistant director of tourism, GTA, said: “The area had been closed since 2017. No regular staff had been appointed at the facility. During the agitation (in 2017), a lot of things were stolen and damaged.”

The lake apart, a lodge, children’s park and a Shiva temple make up the tourist site.

The GTA official said even though the boating and children’s park had been closed for the past three years, the hill body did carry on with development works.

“We completed a lodge with 22 rooms. Four riverside cottages with 12 rooms were also completed in March but they could not be made functional because of Covid-19 pandemic,” said Sharma.

These lodges will be inaugurated soon.

Such was the state of the tourist spot that local people volunteered to clean up the place.

“Yes, around 100 Gorkha Janmukti Yuva Morcha members and local people started a cleanliness drive and they worked for three days. Without their support, the reopening would have been difficult,” said Sharma.

However, the children’s park still needs maintenance. Lamps, fences and benches, too, have to be revamped.

“Maintenance of the park is our primary focus, after which we will think of other components,” said Sharma.

The GTA on Wednesday introduced four boats at Jamuni, which is 15km from Darjeeling town.

“We will charge Rs 50 per person for a ride, apart from Rs 20 as the entry fee,” said Sharma.

The area also falls on the route between Darjeeling and Jorethang-Pelling in Sikkim.

(Courtesy & source: The Telegraph-   https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2020/Oct/1603913990_29nblttboating2_5col.jpg)