Darjeeling tea and tourism festival 21 Dec: ‘Priceless’ wheels in fest parade

Land Rovers, one of the vestiges of British legacy in the hills, rolled out on the streets of Darjeeling on Wednesday as part of the tea and tourism festival. Only 35 Land Rovers from the 1954,’55 and ’56-make ply in the hills, but even to this day, these are the only vehicles that can negotiate the four-hour rough terrain to reach Sandakphu. Tourist hotspot Sandakphu is located in the Singalila wildlife sanctuary at 12,000ft, almost double Darjeeling’s altitude. No modern vehicle has ever dared to ply on this route. Fifteen Land Rovers in the hills use petrol while others have been converted into diesel. “Petrol vehicles can only carry a weight of about six quintals but diesel Land Rovers can take eight quintals. Since the Land Rovers are the only means of transport for high-altitude villagers to ferry their goods, the owners who rent them out have converted their vehicles from petrol into diesel,” said Chandan Pradhan, the secretary of the Singalila Land Rovers’ Association. Fourteen Land Rovers, which included eight that are petrol run, took part in the rally that started from Maneybhanjyan and ended before the Raj Bhawan in Darjeeling town. Tourists were given a free ride between Maneybhanjyan and Darjeeling. Despite the vehicles being more than 50 years old, they are considered priceless in the hills. “The vehicles are priceless and even though people hardly sell them, it will cost around Rs 3-4 lakh if there is an odd exchange of owners,” said Pradhan. The Land Rovers are mainly serviced in Maneybhanjyan and usually machine parts of old cars are modified to suit the needs.  Text by Vivek Chhetri, picture by Suman Tamang (TT)