Delo Park of Kalimpong needs a toilet

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, JANUARY 6, 2024 : Delo Park, the well-known tourist destination, has a great importance for the economy of Kalimpong. In the tourist season, between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists visit Delo Park every day. Besides, people from Kalimpong city and the surrounding areas also visit Delo Park to share their leisure time. Hundreds of people are earning a living by running small businesses from tourism.

So far, the development of tourism in the Darjeeling hills has focused on the promotion of some high peaks, places of religious or historical importance or places of natural importance.

Offering basic facilities to tourists, however, remains neglected. Delo Park in Kalimpong, under the jurisdiction of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, is a glaring example of this. There is no good toilet in the place where a large number of local and foreign tourists visit every day. The toilet built during the period of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council is now in a dilapidated state. Tourists are facing various problems. However, the relevant department seems to be ignoring this. 

A toilet is being run by Anil Ramtel on his own initiative. Residents of the area as well as tourists have demanded that proper toilets be set up in Delo Park. “There are daily complaints from tourists due to untidy toilets,” Ramtel says. “We are running toilets by fetching water from three kilometres away. We have also been talking to the GTA Chairman about this matter. But nothing has been done on the ground so far. He has said that it would be very good if the concerned department would build a good toilet.”

Suchit Das, a tourist from Kolkata, says that the ambience and scenery are good, the hospitality is also good, but there are some inconveniences regarding the toilet. Especially women have many problems with bad toilets. Dawa Sherpa, Coordinator of GTA Tourism Department, says initiatives are already underway for the construction of toilets in the Delo Park. “We will start the Construction of toilets as soon as possible".