Jalpaiguri, July 5: The North Bengal State Transport Corporation will soon introduce two bus services, one between Bagdogra airport and Lataguri in the Dooars and another between New Jalpaiguri station and Lataguri, the corporation chairman said today.
The proposed services would be the first on the routes.
"These days, a considerable number of tourists are flocking to the Dooars round the year. Hence, we have decided to introduce bus services from Bagdogra and from New Jalpaiguri. There will be an air-conditioned bus service from the airport (Bagdogra) to Lataguri (on the fringes of Gorumara National Park) and there will be another service to connect Gorumara with New Jalpaiguri," NBSTC chairman Sourav Chakraborty said at a seminar named More Avenue, More Dooars, at Lataguri, 25km from here, today.
Lataguri Resort Owners' Welfare Association and Lataguri Gypsy Owners' Association had organised the programme.
There is no direct bus on the two routes.
"Tourists have to hire cars. If they plan to take buses, they will have to travel in more than one bus," said a source.
From Bagdogra, Lataguri is around 95km away and the distance between NJP and Lataguri is around 80km.
Now, one has to take a bus, a taxi or an auto to reach PCM bus terminus on Sevoke Road or the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus in Siliguri. If one wants to take the Sevoke-Malbazar route, he will have to take a bus to the Dooars from the PCM terminus to Malbazar or Chulsa and take a second bus to Lataguri.
On another route, one needs to take a bus to Jalpaiguri and then another to Lataguri.
"The fares and timings of the new buses are yet to be fixed. But for NJP, the bus will obviously leave after the trains from Calcutta arrive at the station as they mostly carry tourists," a source said.
"Tourism industry is growing across the Dooars. We had organised the seminar to explore new avenues so that the (Dooars) circuit can be made more attractive," Dibyendu Deb, the secretary of Lataguri Resort Owners' Welfare Association, said.
NBSTC sources said the buses would probably ply through Sevoke as the road is picturesque.
Kamal Bhowmik, the chairman of the association, said: "There are facilities of elephant safaris in Jaldapara and Chapramari but not in Gorumara. We want the state forest department to take up the issue and arrange for elephant rides in Gorumara."
He added: "The state should see that historical and religious destinations like the Jalpeshwar temple, Jatileswar temple and Devi Chowdhurani temple, all in the Dooars, are renovated and made more attractive. Many tourists want to see the process of manufacturing tea. The state tourism department, in consultation with other departments, can introduce the facility on the estates, which have been acquired by the state."
Chakraborty said he would discuss the proposals with the chief minister.
"It is good that the stakeholders of the tourism industry have come together to make the Dooars more attractive for tourists. I will surely raise these proposals before the chief minister and the forest minister and urge them to provide more impetus for the development of tourism in the Dooars," he said.
