Majua/Singbungdera, 28 April : The lush green hills, the fallows and dales form a perfect picture in villages under the Majua gram panchayat (GP) in the foothills of Sandakphu, where electricity is a new thing.
The around 1000 houses in the 8-10 villages that dot the serene landscape are home to mostly the Limbus, Subbas, Thapa and Lepchas, and people in these villages under the Pul-Bijanbari block of Darjeeling believe that the place has a tremendous potential to grow in sectors like village or eco-tourism.
However, the locals also rue the bad shape of the roads leading to the villages and lack of other infrastructure.
People here are engaged in cattle rearing and crop cultivation, as was evident on the way to the area from Maneybhanjyang, the start of the route to Sandakphu, the trekking destination of the state and 25 km from Darjeeling town. The villages are 5 km further away from Maneybhanjyang.
In December last year, some houses were able to get electricity on the initiative of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and under a rural electrification project. Officials say the entire area will get electricity by the end of 2014.
Ankur Unemployed Group, an apolitical organization, has been presently facilitating village tourism here on the banks of a stream, 'Sawaji khola.' It has set up a home stay facility named 'Aranya Baas' built on natural settings for tourists to enjoy the place. The project has also given employment to at least 10-12 locals.
The only home stay facility in the valley connecting two villages, Majua and Singbungdera, was set up with local materials like stones from the stream, wood and bamboos cut from nearby forests.
Those operating the home stay facility say that visitors appreciate the local work -- bamboo beds and other bamboo furniture, and that some tourists have started ordering for those products for their homes. Even the rooms made of stone and bamboo are given traditional names like Chyabrung (a local drum), and Singbungdera (tree house). The organization says the idea behind all this is to promote remote villages of Darjeeling that have the potential to make it bid when it comes to tourism. They also want to provide jobs to the many unemployed youths there. The roads in the area, once half-paved during the tenure of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council now has numerous potholes.
But locals believe that if the roads are repaired, the GP will connect Reling, Bijanbari and even Sikkim. They also say that tourists, after they visit Sandakphu, can stay in the villages, thus giving growth to eco-tourism.(SNS)
The around 1000 houses in the 8-10 villages that dot the serene landscape are home to mostly the Limbus, Subbas, Thapa and Lepchas, and people in these villages under the Pul-Bijanbari block of Darjeeling believe that the place has a tremendous potential to grow in sectors like village or eco-tourism.
However, the locals also rue the bad shape of the roads leading to the villages and lack of other infrastructure.
People here are engaged in cattle rearing and crop cultivation, as was evident on the way to the area from Maneybhanjyang, the start of the route to Sandakphu, the trekking destination of the state and 25 km from Darjeeling town. The villages are 5 km further away from Maneybhanjyang.
In December last year, some houses were able to get electricity on the initiative of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and under a rural electrification project. Officials say the entire area will get electricity by the end of 2014.
Ankur Unemployed Group, an apolitical organization, has been presently facilitating village tourism here on the banks of a stream, 'Sawaji khola.' It has set up a home stay facility named 'Aranya Baas' built on natural settings for tourists to enjoy the place. The project has also given employment to at least 10-12 locals.
The only home stay facility in the valley connecting two villages, Majua and Singbungdera, was set up with local materials like stones from the stream, wood and bamboos cut from nearby forests.
Those operating the home stay facility say that visitors appreciate the local work -- bamboo beds and other bamboo furniture, and that some tourists have started ordering for those products for their homes. Even the rooms made of stone and bamboo are given traditional names like Chyabrung (a local drum), and Singbungdera (tree house). The organization says the idea behind all this is to promote remote villages of Darjeeling that have the potential to make it bid when it comes to tourism. They also want to provide jobs to the many unemployed youths there. The roads in the area, once half-paved during the tenure of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council now has numerous potholes.
But locals believe that if the roads are repaired, the GP will connect Reling, Bijanbari and even Sikkim. They also say that tourists, after they visit Sandakphu, can stay in the villages, thus giving growth to eco-tourism.(SNS)