Stakeholders of the tourism industry, including transport operators, have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Darjeeling district administration on Tuesday to resolve the ongoing dispute between transporters from the hills and the plains and have demanded that the administration should hold a joint meeting with all parties to settle the matter amicably.

Representatives from 11 organisations, including drivers’ unions and tour operator groups, held a sit-in demonstration for nearly two hours in front of the SDO’s office at Hill Cart Road in Siliguri on Tuesday.

According to transporters and tour operators, they had earlier urged the district administration to intervene and allow taxi operators from the plains to conduct sightseeing trips in Darjeeling.

They argued that these vehicles pay all required taxes and should be permitted to operate without restrictions.

Samrat Sanyal, general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), an apex body of tourism stakeholders in the region, said they had repeatedly appealed to officials, including the mayor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, to mediate and resolve the dispute by convening a joint meeting of stakeholders from both the hills and the plains.

“It is surprising that despite our appeals, the issue remains unresolved. Not a single meeting has been convened so far, which has discouraged more than 2,500 operators in the region and placed them under immense pressure,” Sanyal said.

He added that the protesters were advised to submit a fresh representation to the district magistrate of Darjeeling, seeking a permanent solution within 24 hours.

“If nothing happens, we will have no option but to surrender our permits and relevant vehicle documents,” he added.

More than a hundred transporters and members of drivers’ associations participated in the demonstration, which began at 11.30 am and continued until 1.30 pm.

Debasish Maitra, secretary of the transport management committee of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association (EHTTOA), said drivers from the plains—even after paying taxes—are not being allowed to conduct sightseeing in the hills and are feeling insecure after receiving threats from a section of hill-based operators.

“We have organised this sit-in demonstration to demand an immediate solution to the ongoing crisis. If the administration fails to act, we may be forced to launch a larger movement,” Maitra said.