Tourists at New Jalpaiguri get ready to board the special train to Sealdah on Tuesday night. (AFP)

Siliguri, June 11: A special train to Sealdah arranged for tourists coming down from the Darjeeling hills left New Jalpaiguri station half full last night, probably because most people were unaware of it.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s indefinite shutdown in the hills, which began on Monday, had forced thousands of tourists to cut short their holidays and return to Siliguri. The special train was arranged so that they could travel to Calcutta.

However, the low demand for tickets — around 550 people travelled on the train that could carry 1,100 — prompted the railways to add just four extra coaches to Kanchankanya Express that left New Jalpaiguri tonight. No special train was run today.

The senior area manager of Northeast Frontier Railway’s New Jalpaiguri section, S. Sarvariya, said the decision to run a special train was conveyed to him after 1pm yesterday.

“By 2.30pm, we were making announcements at New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri Junction that a special train would leave at 10pm.”

When told that the majority of tourists did not know about the train, Sarvariya said he had communicated the decision to the district administration, including the Siliguri subdivisional officer and the additional district magistrate.

“I also informed the electronic media and FM radio stations so that the message could be flashed immediately,” the area manager added.

“We had 15 coaches on the New Jalpaiguri-Sealdah Special, including AC, sleeper and general coaches, which could accommodate 1,100 passengers. About 550 availed of the train, which is okay. The passengers mainly comprised those who had waitlisted tickets on various trains leaving for Sealdah yesterday,” said Sarvariya.

“A number of tourists preferred to stay on in Siliguri because they had just started their vacation and had confirmed return tickets on later dates,” said Gopal Lama, the deputy secretary (north Bengal) of the department of tourism. “Some of them approached our office and sought advice on where they could go for a safe holiday.”

Lama said his office had directed them to tourist spots in the Dooars and Cooch Behar and helped them get accommodation in government lodges as well as private establishments.

Jayanta Sarkar and family from New Delhi were among those who decided to stay back. “We have decided to go to Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary,” said the senior executive of a multinational firm, who had to come down from the hills.

Sarkar asked the tourism office whether it was safe to go to the wildlife sanctuary and was advised to go via State Highway 12, which goes through the plains where the Morcha bandh has had little effect. The family of four has since left for Jaldapara.

Manish Mehrotra and his family from Calcutta also decided to make the most of their vacation and left for Cooch Behar town this afternoon.

Following the Morcha’s decision to relax the shutdown for two days from this evening, cars once again began to ply to the hills. A group of tourists from Bhatinda in Punjab took the opportunity to go off to Sikkim.

“Our return ticket is for June 18,” said Sandeep Kumar, who was travelling with his wife, two other couples and six children.

“So we decided to take a chance. We firmly believe that the strikers do not have anything against tourists,” said Kumar.

Siphora Grace Targail, the joint secretary of Sikkim tourism, said: “We have informed tourists of the latest situation. The decision is theirs and they travel at their own risk. Once they are in Sikkim, they do not have to worry because the situation there is normal. If they face any difficulty, they can contact our office at M.G. Marg in Gangtok.”