Darjeeling is reeling under severe traffic congestion because of the ongoing tourist rush and Darjeeling traffic police organised an awareness rally on Tuesday to add to the woes.
The 45-minute rally started from the Darjeeling Motor Stand area and ended at Chowrasta, the town’s famous square, at around 1.30pm.
“This is madness,” quipped a local. He had reasons to sound exasperated as it took him more than an hour to cover the distance of three kilometres from Dali to town in the morning.
The Darjeeling police decided to see things differently.
“You might be seeing a rally, but actually this is an awareness programme. Right now, the maximum number of people, tourists, vehicles of various syndicates are on the road and we believe this is the right time to hold an awareness programme,” Arindham Adhikari, DSP traffic, told media persons at Chowrasta when asked about the need to hold a rally during peak tourist season.
The awareness campaign was on the theme “Safe Drive, Save Life”, a pet campaign of chief minister Mamata Banerjee to curb accidents and road fatalities. The campaign, however, is not new and most people are aware of this motto as it was launched almost six years back on July 8, 2016.
Told about the time to cover the Dali-Darjeeling distance, the police officer said traffic was smooth in town.
“Some are saying that there was a traffic jam because of the rally but there is not much jam. All roads are clear now. It does not take an hour to cover the distance; it is now possible in 15 to 20 minutes. In the morning, there was a breakdown of a NBSTC bus,” said Adhikari.
It is ironic that the traffic department had organised a meeting with transport people to work out ways to ease traffic flow in the town just a few days back.
“Roads are narrow in Darjeeling. Many people who drive to the hills from other states like Jharkhand and Bihar are not accustomed to driving in the hills. We are removing vehicles which are parked along the roadside and traffic is improving,” the officer said.
Many locals disagreed with the officer’s opinion.
“Just a few days back, it took me almost one-and-half-hours to cover the distance of around three kilometers from Singamari to Darjeeling town at around 3 pm,” said a local.
Some have also alleged police personnel hold up traffic to allow smooth movement for senior police officers.
There are reports that an RTI reply from the ministry of home affairs states that traffic on roads can be stopped only in the case of movement by the President of India, Vice-President, the Prime Minister and visiting foreign dignitaries who are given President/PM level security cover.
“Even VIPs should restrict their visit during tourist season in Darjeeling,” said a local.
Darjeeling is brimming over with tourists. “My hotel is packed for the month, it is almost full in June and I am also getting bookings for July,” said Rajesh Rajak, general manager of the 45-room Pine Tree Spa and Resorts.
