Makeover for G-20 Summit brings back old world charm

With a G-20 event in Darjeeling on Monday, the Queen of the Hills, especially the Mall has got a complete makeover

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 3 Apr 2023, Darjeeling: Residents of Darjeeling have hailed the G-20 day trip to Darjeeling as the reason for the return of the clean and beautiful Darjeeling of yesteryears. 

The change is most evident in the most famous promenade – the Darjeeling Mall. However, apprehensions run high that things will go back to its old self with the end of the day-long event, centering around the Mall on Monday. With a G-20 event in Darjeeling on Monday, the Queen of the Hills, especially the Mall has got a complete makeover. 

The Mall has been transformed to the Mall of yesteryears complete with flower pots, painted railing, chairs, garbage-free and above all sans temporary roadside stalls, an eyesore as well as inconvenience to the commuters. 

The GTA and Darjeeling Municipality have brought about the transformation for the visit of the G-20 delegates. The GTA has also decided to keep it this way. “It is a big challenge but we will do it. A clean, beautiful and spacious Mall has been a long time demand of the residents. We have held discussions with the administration and the Municipality and made up our minds to keep it this way. It will be kept a hawker-free zone. We will work out a way to rehabilitate the hawkers. 

All will have to support this endeavor keeping politics aside,” stated Anit Thapa, Chief Executive, GTA. “The old Darjeeling is back and it should be kept this way. Why should the public suffer for a group of people forcefully occupying a public space. If political parties want to support them, let them do so at their own cost, not at the expense of jeopardizing public convenience. We want our old Darjeeling back, just as it is now owing to the visit of G-20 delegates” stated a town resident. 

With the plastic draped shanties removed for two or three days, wide open spaces have emerged. For the past two days people have been crowding around the Mall to take photographs of these long forgotten clean open spaces. 

“It reminds me of Darjeeling from my childhood. Now one can’t even walk with shops encroaching both sides of the road. The hawkers should be evicted. This is the last open space in Darjeeling” stated 51 year old Surajit Sinha, who was a resident of Darjeeling but now lives in Kolkata. 

The roadside stalls in the Mall area have been a long standing issue, often taking on the shape of political battles. In 2012, 182 makeshift stalls were evicted from Nehru Road and rehabilitated above Thorn Cottage below Mall under the “Mall Beautification Project” by the GTA with Bimal Gurung at the helm. 12 stalls were given temporary space on Mall Road below the Mahakal. 

This number has crossed 90 stalls now under the name of New Mahakal Market. Also Read - Minor’s death case: Accused in cop net On January 23, 2014, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had laid a foundation stone for a two storied Hawkers Market on CR Das Road below Mall to rehabilitate 90 Hawkers after removing them from Mall. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by Gurung objected to this. 

With the Darjeeling Municipality as a front the work was stopped with the Municipality not passing the plan and also filing a writ at the Calcutta High Court against it. Since then the parties in power in Darjeeling have failed to evict the hawkers fearing a blow to their vote share, despite the area being declared a “No Vending Zone ” by the Darjeeling Municipality. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/makeover-for-g-20-summit-brings-back-old-world-charm-513911?infinitescroll=1