Stakeholders of the tourism industry and transporters based in and around Siliguri sought the intervention of mayor Gautam Deb on Monday to resolve the ongoing differences between vehicle operators and drivers of the hills and plains.
The move follows an incident of vandalism which occurred in Lebong, an area on the outskirts of Darjeeling town, on Saturday night. Four vehicles from the plains, which had ferried tourists to the hills, were parked in Lebong. They were rammed by an unidentified vehicle.
“We have appealed to the mayor to intervene immediately to resolve the crisis by taking up the issue with authorities concerned. He promised us that he would look into it,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, an apex body of the tourism stakeholders.
Mayor Deb said he would talk to Anit Thapa, the chief executive of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), to resolve the issue.
“I will talk to the GTA chief executive to sort out the problem of the tourist vehicle operators of hills and plains. We want to resolve the issue through dialogue,” he said after the meeting.
A couple of weeks back, a driver from the hills had a skirmish with another driver from the plains near New Jalpaiguri station. Both sides filed complaints. Police are probing the case.
After the incident, drivers from the plains alleged that a section of drivers in the hills were not allowing them to take tourists for sightseeing in and around Darjeeling town. Some alleged that they were threatened and asked only to drop off to and pick up tourists from hotels, lodges or homestays concerned but not take them out sightseeing.
This led to protests. The Darjeeling district administration held a meeting last week, where it was agreed that the vehicles from the plains would be allowed to take tourists on sightseeing as before.
But the situation aggravated again after Saturday’s incident in Lebong.
“After this incident, when vehicles were damaged, some drivers from plains are feeling insecure and do not want to go to the hills with passengers. It is a new poser for transporters. We fear it can affect the ensuing tourist season during Christmas and New Year,” said a transporter in Siliguri.
“That is why we have sought the mayor’s intervention,” he added.
Sanyal said they never indulged in any confrontation with hill drivers. "We want an amicable solution," he stressed.