A high-decibel election campaign has started in Darjeeling for the civic election but with a party’s promise of converting the tourist town into a honk-free zone.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantik Morcha on Tuesday released their election manifesto for the February 27 election to highlight some issues that are being considered a “bit different.”

“The Darjeeling municipality will work with the Darjeeling district police and work towards announcing Darjeeling as a no-honk zone area within Darjeeling municipality area,” said Amar Lama, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantik Morcha’s face for the civic chairperson’s post.

If Darjeeling is turned into a honk-free town, it would be among the first in the country to do so.

This issue found its way into conversations in the town especially after Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, had managed to implement the same some years ago.

Many debated the pros and cons of the idea.

“In a hill area where there are sharp bends a complete no-honk zone might not be possible (for the sake of commuting safety) but the restriction in its use in certain areas of the town may be possible,” said a transporter from Darjeeling.

Car honks are known to reach 100 to 110 decibels, while sounds below 70 decibels are considered safe.

The other “different" issue raised by the BGPM is its promise to “introduce dog license” for all dog owners.

The party has also promised to introduce “regular dog sterilisation camps to combat the menace of street dogs”.

Dog licence had been in vogue in Darjeeling many decades ago.

Apart from these offbeat issues, the BGPM manifesto has also spoken about upgrading the municipality into a corporation, providing land rights, cutting down on taxes, among others.

“There is a distinct attempt by political parties to be different and creative during their civic election campaign this year,” said a political analyst from Darjeeling.

Flash mob dance

An instance of creative campaign was visible on Valentine’s Day, Monday. Supporters of the Hamro Party organised a flash mob dance at Chowrasta.

The dancers through their performance expressed a narrative that this year the citizen’s Valentine is Darjeeling and that people should love the place unconditionally to make it beautiful.

A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, and then disperse as quickly. The suddenness of the performance is its main attraction. The performance can be for entertainment, satire, and artistic expression — both political and apolitical.

Many parties are also roping in well-known personalities from literature and music to campaign for their candidates, something new for the place.