A file picture of a toy train chugging into Sukna station

Siliguri, May 6: A splash of green sprinkled all around, the Darjeeling hills in the background, roadside eateries offering delicious momos and a toy train station — Sukna had all the ingredients of a tourist hotspot till the statehood agitation was renewed.

The quaint hamlet is the last in the plains, around 10km from here before National Highway 55 makes a serpentine climb uphill. Sukna is a 15-minute drive from Siliguri and one of the most favoured spots for the people of the plains who came here often to spend some time away from the hullabaloo of town.

“However, over the past three years or so, particularly after the resumption of the Gorkhaland movement, the situation has dramatically changed much to our disappointment,” said Kanak Bose, a youth from Siliguri said.

“Earlier, Sukna was our favourite spot and on most occasions, we used to travel on motorcycles during the day and even after sunset. We would travel through the forests or sip tea and enjoy momos at the eateries,” said Bose.

With frequent blockades and incidents of violence on the stretch between Darjeeling More and Sukna, many people have stopped visiting their favourite haunt.

Akhil Agarwal, a businessman who visits Sukna almost every Sunday, said: “A few months back, I was returning from Sukna when my car was stopped on the highway by some agitators who had raised a blockade near Dagapur. Despite repeated requests, I was not allowed a passage and I had to take the Sukna-Khaprail-Matigara route, covering about 20km extra. Since then, we have stopped going to Sukna.”

People running the roadside eateries on way to Sukna, admitted that the number of customers are far less now. “Earlier hundreds of people used to come from Siliguri and would stop at our shops. Nowadays, we mostly get flying customers, most of whom are on some errand or visiting the place for some odd jobs,” said a shop owner who refused to divulge his name. With the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha closing government offices for several days, the nature interpretation centre and the non-timber forest products museum in Sukna have also been shut for some time now.

“Although the situation had been peaceful for the past one month or so, there was either a blockade by the Morcha or a demonstration by the tribals or an anti-Gorkhaland forum on the highway before that. The final blow was the burning down of the Sukna police outpost in March,” said Utpal Choudhury, another resident of Siliguri.

With the hamlet continuing to elude Siliguri residents many are optimistic that the situation would be back to normal soon. “I had taken several of my relatives and friends to Sukna and Dudhia recently,” said Rajen Jha, a resident of Milanpally.

Dudhia is a tourist spot on way to Mirik and is 15km from Sukna and is under Kurseong subdivision

“For the past one month, things seem to be returning to normal with no demonstrations or blockades along the stretch,” said Jha.