CRPF personnel deployed in front of the district magistrate’s office in Darjeeling on Tuesday. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has given a call to shut down all government offices in the hills. However, the party has exempted the DM and the police chief’s office. Picture by Suman Tamang

Siliguri, July 6: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call for indefinite closure of government offices from today has dashed the hopes of tourists looking forward to rides on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that has been suffering from an annual average loss of Rs 4 crore for the past few years.

“We had come to Darjeeling hearing that the indefinite strike had been called off. A ride on the world famous toy train was first on our itinerary. So, we thought that we would book our tickets for a ride to Kurseong, realising little that the closure of offices included the DHR too. But at the station we were told that all toy train services have been suspended,” Tulika Sahay, a tourist from Patna, told The Telegraph over the phone from Darjeeling. The Sahays arrived in Darjeeling on Sunday on a week-long vacation.

A group of five tourists from the UK who had experienced rides on the other two world heritage railways of India — Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Kalka Shimla Railway — had planned to wrap up their trip to India with a DHR ride. “We arrived in Siliguri today and got to know of this office strike which includes the DHR too. We are staying here throughout this week and hope the strike is withdrawn so that we can enjoy a ride in the toy train,” Evie Hone, a girl from the group, said.

The heritage hill railway service was limping back to normality after the indefinite strike called by the Morcha for four days from June 19. Of late, the tourists were availing themselves of the rides but the sudden call for closure of offices has suspended the toy train services completely.

The DHR locomotive shed at the Siliguri Junction station

“The occupancy of services was around 60 to 70 per cent, if not full, in the past week. It means around 60 passengers took the trains in the Kurseong-Darjeeling sector, while around 40 availed themselves of the joyride between Ghoom and Darjeeling. Some people have also made advance bookings. Now we have no option but to refund their money. The DHR is incurring a loss of Rs 4 crore a year,” a DHR source said.

The DHR authorities have adopted a “wait and watch policy”. “We will wait and watch for a few days before approaching the Morcha to request it to keep the DHR out of the purview of the office closure,” director P.P. Roy said.