Mirik boat race to win winter tourists

Darjeeling, Nov. 23: The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and regional postal department are determined to start the first-ever boat race on Mirik Lake, in a bid to grab more tourists during the off-season winter months.

Postmaster general of north Bengal and Sikkim John Samuels said the `Speed Post Boat Race` would boost Mirik's potential as a tourist spot.

The department is working out the modalities with the DGHC's tourism department and, according to an official of the department, the event was tentatively being set for January. This will be the first time such a competition would be held in the Darjeeling hills, pointed out tourism officials. They were banking on the event's tourist-pulling capacity during the cold winter months, they added. A senior official said the DGHC owned six paddle boats, two row boats and a shikara at Mirik.The competition would, however, be restricted to the paddle boats since the other types would be inadequate for the race. `We will face no problem as far as paddle boats are concerned. Apart from the six boats that we already have, the department has already ordered for 10 more paddle boats that are expected to arrive soon," said a DGHC tourism official, adding that the "park at Mirik was being renovated by the DGHC.`

To get the attention of the tourists, the contest has been opened to everyone. `We were initially thinking of holding the race from one end of the lake to the other but the distance turned out to be only 1.5 km. Then we decided to make the competitors go round the lake since the circumference was 3.5 km,` said Samuel.

And, if you are thinking why the postal department, Samuel explains: `Through the event the department is determined to contribute to the socio-economic development of the town, which is largely dependent on the tourism industry.`

Courtesy
The Telegraph

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