Electrification work to be taken up at Sandakphu and Phalut
New lodges & camping space will also come up at these places
DARJEELING: The state government is all set to upgrade infrastructure all along the oldest Himalayan adventure activity route in India. Electrification work will be taken up in Sandakphu and Phalut. New lodges and camping space will also come up. Sandakphu (11929 ft) is the highest point of Bengal with Phalut (11,811 ft,) 21 km away, the second highest.
“Sandakphu trek is said to be the oldest Himalayan adventure activity in the country. There are records of treks being organised to Sandakphu from Darjeeling, dating back to the 1870s. Himalayan adventure and trekking activity of Bangladesh is Sandakphu centric as Himalayas are not a part of Bangladesh. However, there are certain problems that are being faced now, specially since the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic,” stated Raj Basu, chairman, Eco Tourism, state government.
While the entire trek route is in India, the good lodging facilities are all on the Nepal side. “The trekkers huts on the Indian side are not well maintained. The Sashashtra Seema Bal (SSB) guarding the Indian Nepal border restricts foreigners undertaking this trek from crossing over to Nepal for proper accommodation facilities,” stated Basu.
A meeting of the state tourism promotion task force chaired by the Chief Secretary, held on May 23 at Nabanna resolved that the Home and Hill Affairs Department of
West Bengal will take up the matter with the SSB, including “foreign tourist registration at multiple checkpoints by SSB to ease and simplify the process of checking of foreign tourists at multiple checkpoints.” There are 9 SSB checkpoints from Manebhanjyang (from where the trek commences) to Phalut.
The meeting further resolved that the Power department will submit a proposal to the Finance department for setting up of a power sub-station at an appropriate location in close coordination with the Forest department.
West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Ltd (WBFDCL) will build few cottages with kitchen/ dining facility to be opened commercially at Tonglu and Chitre villages along with other habitations near Sandakphu.
“WBFDCL is to start tent and camping facilities which would run commercially at Sandakphu, Phalut and Gairibas. A waste management facility to cater not only to these proposed facilities but also the waste/litter generally found in these areas will be taken up by WBFDCL,” resolved the meeting. WBFDCL is to expedite the construction of the Tonglu tourism property and arrange for the remaining offsite infrastructure so that the property is ready by December 31, 2023.
“The stretch of the road from Bikaybhanjyang to Sandakphu will also be repaired. With all this infrastructure development Sandakphu is all set to come back in a big way,” added Basu.