After 104 dark days, Darjeeling comes back to life
DARJEELING: The bazaar streets bustled below on Wednesday and an English breakfast at Keventers with a backdrop of Mount Kanchenjunga and its sister peaks stretched out across a vibrant blue sky captured what touristy Darjeeling stands for.
The hill town’s signature stops such as Keventers and Glenary’s opened after a 104day shutdown. As did shops selling provisions, sundries and curios, though low on stocks and cash.
The sunny weather complimented the festive mood — Durga puja and Dussehra, the most important festival of the Gorkhas of the picturesque tea-growing hill districts in northern West Bengal.
The burst of life belies the tense situation since June 15, the day the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the political party that rules the hills, called an indefinite strike against the government’s crackdown on a stir for a separate Gorkhaland state.
The crisis began early June after the Trinamool Congress government made Bengali a compulsory subject for students in all schools in the state. The majority in Darjeeling speaks Nepali and they opposed the government’s move. The language protest resurrected the region’s demand for a separate state that dates back to the British era. Violence, arson and police firing engulfed one of India’s most visited hill stations. At least a dozen people died and scores were wounded.
The GJM, an ally of the BJP, called off the bandh on Tuesday evening after Union home minister Rajnath Singh announced a meeting to discuss “all issues” related to Darjeeling. The day after, district magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said: “Life was absolutely normal on the streets of Darjeeling. I even saw a few tourists, including foreigners.”
The sighting of tourists brings hope for a region whose economy depends heavily on them. The strike hit the biggest money-spinners of the hills — tourism and tea.
The morning siren in 87 tea plantations in the hills that employ more than 75,000 workers marked the call to duty after a long, forced recess.
“The workers are likely to get their puja bonus on Thursday,” said Suraj Subba, general secretary of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union. The festival bonus is likely to spur sales before Dussehra on September 30, but traders in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong are unsure about funds to stock up on provisions. “I saw traders cleaning their shops in Chowk Bazar at the heart of the town. Cobwebs have engulfed many of them,” said Sulochona Chettri, a Darjeeling homemaker.
Most people are low on cash. State government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration employees haven’t got their salaries for three months. “This Durga puja and Dussehra would pass without fanfare,” said Jyoti Karki, a Kalimpong resident.
People believe it will take a while for Darjeeling to revive its economy.