Declare Darjeeling Chowrasta region as a bio-heritage site, urge green groups

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 20 July 2023, Darjeeling: Green groups, welfare organisations and NGOs will soon be writing a letter to the West Bengal Heritage Commission urging them to declare the Darjeeling Mall and Chowrasta as a Bio- Heritage site. 

They will further approach the district administration, police and municipality to declare Chowrasta a vehicle-free zone with the exception of emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire brigades. 

“There is an urgent need to save the Darjeeling Mall and the Chowrasta, specially the Mahakal Danra, the hilltop on the mall, as it is a water tower-catchment area of water with a natural forest absorbing the moisture and an intricate cave system. Rampant construction and concretisation has started to take a toll,” stated Bharat Prakash Rai of Federation of Societies for Environment Protection. 

A meeting was held at the Hayden Hall in Darjeeling on July 15 with various organisations, NGOs, green groups and representatives of civil society taking part. “In this meeting it was decided that no further constructions should be allowed at the mall and Chowrasta. We will be writing to the West Bengal Heritage Commission to declare the area as a Bio-Heritage site so that it is preserved as it is,” added Rai. 

He stated that the second round of talks will be held on July 25 tentatively following which pressure groups along with groups to sensitise the masses to create awareness will be formed. 

“We will send copies of the resolution of the meetings to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, District Administration, Police and Darjeeling Municipality so that they do the needful,” stated Rai. The meeting delved on the need to plant indigenous trees and be vigilant about the rampant unchecked construction that is going on. 

It was also decided to conduct awareness campaigns in educational institutions, as well as door-to-door awareness campaigns in the local samaj besides strictly stopping vehicular movement along the Mall Road, without any exception apart from emergency services and to bring about circular dialogue among different administration departments of Darjeeling responsible for the area to bring about holistic and collective solutions. Presentations were done by experts. 

“Through their presentations, they showed how the Mahakal Dara (Hill) is the last remaining natural resource in urban Darjeeling that functions as a water catchment area and the ways in which its preservation is crucial for the water futures of Darjeeling. 

They showed through a variety of geographical models how in the case of destruction of the Mahakal Dara (Hill) through construction and building activities, Darjeeling’s water future will be in a crisis of unimaginable magnitude,” said Minket Lepcha, an independent researcher. Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/declare-darjeeling-chowrasta-region-as-a-bio-heritage-site-urge-green-groups-526331