Tourism boost: Rock Garden & Gangamaya Park set to get a facelift at Rs 9 crore

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 26 Oct 2023, Darjeeling: The Rock Garden and Gangamaya Park are all set to get a facelift at Rs 9 crore by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). New amenities will also be introduced to attract tourists. 

The Rock Garden, around 10 km from Darjeeling town, was developed as a tourist spot by the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) in 1996. Gangamaya Park, 3 km away from Rock Garden was developed a year after.

The aim was to woo tourists to Darjeeling, just recouping from the two-year-long violent Gorkhaland agitation that had culminated with the formation of DGHC in 1988. However, Cyclone Aila badly damaged both of them in 2009. 

The 7 km road from Dali Fatak to Gangamaya Park is in a deplorable state. So much so that the tour operators and taxis have stopped ferrying tourists to Rock Garden and Gangamaya. 

“The condition of the road is deplorable and is prone to accidents. In case of accidents it is usually the driver who is blamed, hence we decided to stop plying here,” stated a tourist taxi driver on conditions of anonymity. 

A tourism team from the GTA visited the Rock Garden and Gangamaya Park on October 22. “A Detailed Project Report has been prepared. The tourism department of the GTA will soon undertake the work,” stated Norden Sherpa, GTA Sabhasad in-charge of Tourism. 

Already a 4 km stretch of the 10 km road had been made pliable with potholes being filled. “We will undertake a thorough repair soon. The delay was owing to area demarcation as a stretch falls under the Darjeeling Municipality and the remaining part under the Panchayat. However, all these issues have been sorted out” added Sherpa. Tourism experts had also visited along with the GTA team. 

“There is an excellent opportunity for adventure sports. We will introduce zip lining and mountain biking here. The lake at Gangamaya Park will also undergo beautification. Boating facilities will be reintroduced,” stated the Sabhasad. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/tourism-boost-rock-garden-gangamaya-park-set-to-get-a-facelift-at-rs-9-crore-538045?infinitescroll=1