DARJEELING: Lamahatta now boasts of being an eco-tourist destination. But even a year back the villagers found it hard to make ends meet. Wondering how? A few minutes out of Mamata Banerjee's busy schedule is all it took for this drastic "poribartan".
"I still feel that I am dreaming. Just imagine what wonders can happen when the chief minister spares some time for people like us. We villagers are really thankful to her for her vision," said a beaming Pemba Tsering Sherpa, who now offers tents to tourists for their stay in this picturesque village, just off the main road leading to Kalimpong and Sikkim.
During her travel to Kalimpong from Darjeeling last year, Mamata - smitten by the scenic beauty - had stopped at Lamahatta to take photographs. She had advised her troupe to convert it into a tourism spot. The North Bengal development (NBD) department of the state government, the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation ( WBTDC) and the Darjeeling Forest Division are working jointly to develop the village, 20km from Darjeeling town in Takdah.
Seven houses of the villagers have been converted into home-stay facility, while three have been converted into tent houses. The end target is to have about 35-40 tourist cottages and tent houses. Rates for the houses have been fixed at Rs 1000 per room, but for the tents one has to shell out Rs 2000. The tourism department is funding the project through the NBD department, while the forest department is executing the renovation work.
Major attractions are the park and well manicured garden within the village. A trekking route has also been built that will lead tourists though the pine tree maze to two beautiful ponds locally called "jore pokhari" (twin ponds). Seats at vantage points have been placed with a watch tower overlooking the surroundings.
The forest division has plans to construct a meditation centre and a coffee house in the village. Though not located inside the forest, tourists if lucky can run into barking deer, leopards and civets along the trekking trail.
"The eco-tourism will certainly benefit the villagers with tourist flow. Besides, it will also act as a means to conserve nature and the surrounding forest areas," said B R Sewa, the divisional forest officer.
The forest division has taken the local forest protection committee on board to ensure smooth functioning of tourism in the area. "We want the villagers to feel that it is their endeavour. I believe this initiative can be a model for similar efforts in the region," Sewa added. The forest division is also conducting workshops for the villagers in hospitality service."
Now we have an alternative source of income. In fact, once the tourist flow gets going, our village will turn global," said Sujata Chhetri, a resident of the village which thrived on agriculture until now. The project is likely to be completed by end November.
"I still feel that I am dreaming. Just imagine what wonders can happen when the chief minister spares some time for people like us. We villagers are really thankful to her for her vision," said a beaming Pemba Tsering Sherpa, who now offers tents to tourists for their stay in this picturesque village, just off the main road leading to Kalimpong and Sikkim.
During her travel to Kalimpong from Darjeeling last year, Mamata - smitten by the scenic beauty - had stopped at Lamahatta to take photographs. She had advised her troupe to convert it into a tourism spot. The North Bengal development (NBD) department of the state government, the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation ( WBTDC) and the Darjeeling Forest Division are working jointly to develop the village, 20km from Darjeeling town in Takdah.
Seven houses of the villagers have been converted into home-stay facility, while three have been converted into tent houses. The end target is to have about 35-40 tourist cottages and tent houses. Rates for the houses have been fixed at Rs 1000 per room, but for the tents one has to shell out Rs 2000. The tourism department is funding the project through the NBD department, while the forest department is executing the renovation work.
Major attractions are the park and well manicured garden within the village. A trekking route has also been built that will lead tourists though the pine tree maze to two beautiful ponds locally called "jore pokhari" (twin ponds). Seats at vantage points have been placed with a watch tower overlooking the surroundings.
The forest division has plans to construct a meditation centre and a coffee house in the village. Though not located inside the forest, tourists if lucky can run into barking deer, leopards and civets along the trekking trail.
"The eco-tourism will certainly benefit the villagers with tourist flow. Besides, it will also act as a means to conserve nature and the surrounding forest areas," said B R Sewa, the divisional forest officer.
The forest division has taken the local forest protection committee on board to ensure smooth functioning of tourism in the area. "We want the villagers to feel that it is their endeavour. I believe this initiative can be a model for similar efforts in the region," Sewa added. The forest division is also conducting workshops for the villagers in hospitality service."
Now we have an alternative source of income. In fact, once the tourist flow gets going, our village will turn global," said Sujata Chhetri, a resident of the village which thrived on agriculture until now. The project is likely to be completed by end November.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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