Kalimpong, June 13: After lending wings to Bagdogra's
dream of getting international status, Union tourism minister Jagmohan
today unveiled his plans to convert Kalimpong into a tourism hub.
`There are a lot of unwanted but beautiful
buildings in many places of the region. We want to utilise them. The
locations of these old bungalows are also in scenic surroundings.
We can easily convert these bungalows into tourist resorts,`
Jagmohan said.First in line for the makeover are the old bungalows
in Munsong and Ghoom.
`There are beautiful places, particularly
in Munsong, which can be tourist destinations. The main occupation
is cinchona plantation. As cinchona plantation is also going through
a bad phase, tourism can prove to be an alternative for the local
people,` he added.
Elaborating on other plans to attract more tourists, Jagmohan said:
`We want to convert old bungalows in Ghoom and Kurseong to tourist
resorts. We are also exploring the possibility of making tourist huts
on the way to Tiger Hill so that visitors can stay there.`
The huts, he added, would allow visitors to spend more time sightseeing
around the Tiger Hill area and not go there only for a few hours to
see the sunrise.
Stressing on the importance of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to
boost tourism in the region, Jagmohan said: `The toy train will
play an important part in boosting tourism. Ghoom and Kurseong are
well connected by railway.`
The region, which has been receiving around Rs. 7 crore for two or
three years to promote the tourist spots, will be allocated additional
funds to initiate the plans once a survey has been conducted to plan
to approach to the facelift process, Jagmohan said. He added that
a lot of work was needed to be done to improve the tourism prospectus
of Darjeeling.
`There are problems like haphazard constructions
and water scarcity in the Darjeeling hills. We have to see what can
be done to improve this,` he said. |
Home | About Us | Contact
Us | Site Map | Feedback
