The ‘toy train’ run by the army at Libing helipad complex in Gangtok on Thursday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, Oct. 27: In an entertainment-starved Gangtok, especially during the Diwali days, a fair organised by the army at its Libing helipad complex today proved to be a welcome outing for the local people.

Although Gangtok boasts all modern amenities, it hardly has any avenues or parks for families to go for an outing or public spaces for recreational activities. This aspect is magnified during holidays, forcing the people here to spend their time indoors.

Fortunately for the people here, the 17th Mountain Division of the army maintained its tradition of holding the Diwali Mela where civilians mingled freely with the men in uniforms and their families for merry making.

More than 2,000 people from different parts of Gangtok made it a point to make a beeline for the fair.

“There is hardly any place to go with families and kids in Gangtok for an outing. The absence of any fairs or parks is pinching for us during festivals like Diwali. We can go to villages or outside Sikkim during long holidays but we don’t have any place to spend in Gangtok for a day or two,” said Sameer Pradhan, who had come to the fair.

Pradhan came with his two young children so that they could spend some time outside in the sun and could have fun at the day-long fair.

The army had installed some 30 stalls which were thronged by the visitors. The stalls either sold tasty snacks or hosted a variety of games. Some army personnel danced to popular songs being belted by the speakers at the fair.

A girl takes a pony ride at the fair. (Prabin Khaling)

If the adults were engaged in displaying their dancing skills or testing their luck in different card and ball games, the kids were attracted to the pony rides and a ‘train’ rustled up by the army. Two hundred and thirty kids have already taken pony rides, said an army jawan manning the counter.

The ‘train’ was a vehicle pulling along three coaches with a capacity of eight passengers each. It had been given the features to resemble a toy train with volunteers carrying ‘red’ and ‘green’ flags to signal the start or end of a short circular trip in the helipad.

“I have brought my kids to play here when I came to know that the army is hosting a fair. These kids have been staying indoor during the holidays and the fair will be refreshing for them,” said a state government employee.

Parents accompanying the kids did not fail to remind the government about the absence of parks or recreational avenues for the people in Gangtok. “The government is giving thrust only to the development of facilities for tourists in Gangtok. But what about the local people? Where do we take our parents or children for an outing within Gangtok?” said a resident.

Most of the places where one can go with families for a break are located on the outskirts of Gangtok, making it an expensive proposition. In Gangtok, the only free space available right now is the MG Marg.

“Tourists may enjoy walking along the tiled MG Marg but for us, it is nothing new. Even if we bring our kids for a stroll here, it is hardly entertaining for them and almost all the time, we end up buying toys for them,” said a parent.