Siliguri to Darjeeling transporters’ road strike called off

Dec. 6: Travellers to Darjeeling will now have to pay an indirect “bad road fee” because of an all-too-familiar foot-dragging on repairs.

A transporters’ strike to protest delay in repairing a cratered stretch of the key road from Siliguri to Darjeeling was called off today after an agreement that uphill traffic can switch to a longer and more expensive route.

The deal means that commuters will have to use Mirik Road — which will take 45 minutes more and leave a share-taxi passenger poorer by Rs 40 a trip. Those who hire a vehicle on their own may have to shell out Rs 500-600 more. The only consolation is Mirik Road offers picturesque sights on the way up but few commuters appeared amused.

The strike was called to protest the condition of the 17km Rohini Road that skirts two landslide-buried spots along NH55 or Hill Cart Road. The two stretches on the lifeline road have been out of service for almost one-and-a-half years following the landslide.

The delay in clearing the landslide debris — the road is maintained by the national highways authority — is being attributed to the then hill agitation and inclement weather.

But the problem did not reach a flashpoint because transporters bypassed the stretch by using Rohini Road. But the condition of the alternative road has worsened so much that the transporters are now refusing to use the road.

As part of her charm offensive in the hills, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced Rs 20 crore in September for road repair in the region. But the money — a part of it — reached the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), which maintains Rohini Road, only 10 days ago.

That left the administration with little time to repair the road. So, the alternative was agreed upon at a meeting between Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung and members of the Darjeeling-Siliguri Drivers’ Welfare Organisation.

Gurung told the drivers that they should stop using Rohini Road till it was repaired and drive up to Darjeeling from Siliguri via Mirik.

Travelling to Darjeeling via Mirik will extend the usual travel time by about 45 minutes.

With the longer route guzzling more fuel, taxi operators have hiked fares from Rs 100 per person to Rs 140. The journey down to Siliguri from Darjeeling, via Pankhabari Road, remains the same at Rs 100 per person.

More than 500 taxis ply between the two towns ferrying on an average around 10,000 passengers on a weekday.

“During the meeting, Bimal Gurung asked us not to go ahead with the strike and use the Mirik route. But we will have to charge Rs 140 instead of Rs 100 as we will be plying a longer route,” said Kavindra Gurung, the president of the association.

The hike in the uphill fares has been endorsed by Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan. “The administration has no problems with the new arrangement proposed by the transporters,” he said.

But people who regularly commute between Siliguri and Darjeeling are blaming the administration for its negligence in getting roads repaired. They have also expressed their annoyance at having to pay more.

Bappa Chakrabarty, a medical representative who gets a fixed travel allowance, said the administration’s aloofness was now affecting his budget.

“I have to travel between Siliguri and Darjeeling at least four times a week. I will have to shell out the extra money. This is solely because of the district administration. Had they maintained Rohini Road without delaying repairs, passengers would not have been inconvenienced,” he said.

Up in Darjeeling, Raju Gurung, a third-year student, took a dig at Mamata. “Even before she came to power, she had said that Darjeeling would be transformed to Switzerland. Unfortunately, even after 200 days of coming to power, one of the most important roads (Rohini) has remained neglected and because of that, we will have to pay more,” said Raju.

Sources in the DGHC, which maintains all roads other than NH55, blamed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha agitation that went on till this July as well as the election process earlier this year for the delay in road repairs.

The district magistrate said work on the roads would start soon. “Tenders were floated for Rohini Road repairs on November 30. We are trying to start work by Christmas. Other roads will be repaired from December 8,” he said.

-The Telegraph