|
|
|
"AYO AYO GORKHA LI!!!''
 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] 艺术家笔记 |
It was a paradox...my whole trip to Darjeeling was shrouded in heavy monsoon clouds with occasional heavy rain...the only sunny day i got up there was marred by this....mass protest by local people shouting "ayo ayo gorkha li!!" ... a sort of battlecry from the gorkha janamukti morcha (GJM) ...a party representing the gorkha population in darjeeling...
the restaurants were closed...so we didnt have food...the shops were closed...and i was running out of batterries...some of the shops which were open denied us giving bottles of water...my hotel manager was only kind enough to give me breakfast of a toast and coffee for 2 dollars...and that's all i could have for the whole day...such a similar fate was that of more than a hundred tourists up there...mostly foreigners...
As the news started to get around evening that the Darjeeling Hills would shut down for four days following the bandh called by the Opposition parties, the tourism industry began to feel the pinch almost immediately...The possibility of a four day shutdown created a panic situation amongst the tourists here, sending the travel agencies into a mad frenzy to get the news confirmed. Those tourists leaving Darjeeling in the next three days were the ones who were affected the most. And when it was confirmed that the bandh would begin as scheduled, there was nothing but frustration and anxiety amongst the visitors.... Faced with the situation of being stranded in Darjeeling for four days with rail or air tickets and just enough money to get back home, a large number of tourists gathered outside the Police Headquarters (including me and a group of foreigners) and pleaded the authority to make arrangement for us to reach Siliguri. 揙ur flight is scheduled today evening for Kolkata and we are hoping that Police would cooperate with us in solving the problem,� was our point...But we were told that only GJM authority can give us the permission...When we went to the party office they rebounded the whole matter to the police again...And we were just running around from one office to another, frustration and agony were written all over our faces.
Most of us were not informed of the strike either by the tour operators or by the hoteliers.
But ultimately with the help of the administration we finally managed to get out of the mess...we were lucky...some were not...some had to pay almost 50 dollars to get back to Siliguri, which generally is around 5 dollars per head...i know one person whose daughter studies in one of the schools near darjeeling....hearing about the whole crisis, he went to pick her up...he was stopped by GJM supporters in kurseong and was told to walk back 30/40 kilometres on foot...his bike was seized...
I will keep documenting this whole crisis in my next posts...i dunno if any of my fellow TE friends had the bad luck of getting stuck in Darjeeling...but i sincerely hope they do not get into such a mess.. |
isabela_sor, dhurjati has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekEarth members may rate photo notes. |
|
|
|
Hello Sabyasachi,
Well said, in your Note and specially in your reply to Isabela. I had similar sort of experience in February during my Honeymoon trip. We were in Lepchajagat when we heard of a strike in Hills. We went downhill to Suntanekhola only to find that the dooars too is completely shut.We were stuck at Suntanekhola for 3 complete days.But our experience was not as bad as yours.We had great stay at Suntanekhola and had lovely foods too :).Yah, this is a messy situation at the hills but we all sincerely hope and pray that the situation again becomes normal.Many people is completely dependent on Tourism and a strike will only cause them to loose their bread.I am hopeful but this is a nice attempt on your part to document this whole episode and send a strong message to these parties that we tourists will travel whatever happens.
Thank you,
Dhurjati
Hello Sabya,
very well posted and very written note here...yes I have been a big victim of this stike few months back when I was with a group and we were in Rimbick almost 7 hrs drive from siliguri...our only vehicle's driver was beaten up and his vehicle taken for a jansabha in Siliguri.
It was my good luck that I know all the routes out at that place..I trekked 16 kms with 14 people including 2 kids and 4 ladies, crossed over to Sikkim, Sarangtan..crossed 20 feet long bamboo bridge over rammam river and then got to siliguri after changing three vehicles from sarangtan, spent almost Rs.15000 to get them back to base which is normally 2500 per vehicle....I had to do that as they were my Clients..!!!!
It a sad story in the hills when these kind of protests happen..If tourism fails..wat will happen to the poor and people earn on daily wages working as drivers and porters and guides..!!!
I really appreciated your gesture of posting this issue for the world to know ..!! the point are for your spirit..!!
Regards,
Indro
hi sabyasachi,
i dont think this madness is going to end soon. my friends had been to lava about two back - they said that the gorkha janamukti morcha is holding massive rallies all over dooars, taking away most vehicles. they simply dont care about anyone or their inconvenience - forget tourists. so if anyone is heading for the dooars - please be careful.
regards
somak
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 61 W: 1 N: 90]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2816 W: 1103 N: 6985]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(34438)![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 56 W: 4 N: 37]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-s.gif){kind=small}
Offf,poor you,my friend
This place is on my dream-list and when I will come there I hope I will have only good memories :)
You and your note cant make change my mind :))
My God,how many people there....
Hugs from Romania
Isabela