Six hundred light vehicles will be allowed to travel daily to Tiger Hill from Sunday, double the current limit that came into force two weeks ago with the aim of reducing congestion around Darjeeling town.
The Batasia Loop, where tourists are taken to when they return from Tiger Hill, will open at 5am, instead of 10am, officials said.
The earlier restrictions had not gone down well with travel operators who feared a drop in the number of tourists ahead of the Puja season.
Since September 1, the police were allowing only 300 vehicles with entry passes on a first-come-first-served basis.
“It has been decided that from Sunday, we will allow 600 vehicles to Tiger Hill. The decision has been made keeping in mind the available parking area and some other issues. We have been issuing coupons and the process will continue,” Hari Krishna Pai, additional superintendent of police of Darjeeling, said on Saturday.
Pai was speaking after a meeting with transporters and other stakeholders of the tourism industry in Darjeeling.
On August 27, the police had proposed the 300-vehicle cap for Tiger Hill. It was also mentioned that the Batasia Loop would open at 10am. On Saturday, ASP Pai said: “Like earlier days, Batasia will open for visitors at 5am.”
Those associated with travel trade in the hill town and across the region had protested the cap of 300 and spoken with state tourism minister Gautam Deb, senior police officials and others in the administration over the past two weeks.
On Saturday, too, they demanded that the police revoke the coupons and pointed out that during the peak tourist season, around 1,800 vehicles head for Tiger Hill every day.
But ASP Paid said: “They could not provide any logic on why we should stop issuing the coupons. We have doubled the number of vehicles and in due course, will review the situation and take decisions.”
Pradip Lama, general secretary, Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents, said: “We are not satisfied with the new announcements. We will soon sit with other associations and plan our further move.”
