Bare scaffolding and silent construction sites are fast becoming a common sight in parts of Darjeeling hills, as the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) process has slowed down the construction industry by drawing workers and contractors into electoral hearings.

In the Darjeeling hills, the majority of skilled construction workers are drawn from the Islampur-Chopra region of North Dinajpur district.

“Work in all of my four sites have come to a halt as my key men like the head mason and carpenter have left home for SIR hearings. A total of 12 workers have left for SIR hearings from my sites,” said Manna Ali, a labour contractor in Kurseong.

Even though the Islampur-Chopra area is only around a four-and-a-half hours drive from Darjeeling, labour contractors maintain that most workers tend to stay back for a long period once they return home, hampering construction work.

“We have a religious event during February first week and hence workers leaving for the SIR hearing now are unwilling to return to work,” said Ali.

The Election Commission (EC) had earlier announced February 7 as the last date for hearing and February 14 as the date of publication of the final electoral rolls after an initial extension.

There are reports that the publication of the final voter list could be deferred beyond the scheduled February 14 following multiple directions issued by the Supreme Court to the EC on the SIR process in Bengal.

The ripple-effect of the SIR process on construction sites across Darjeeling hills has come after tourism stakeholders faced a similar situation in November this year.

“The Puja season was a washout this year following landslides in the hills during October first week this year. We thought things would pick up in November but then many people deferred or cancelled their travel plans due to the first phase of the SIR exercise,” said a hotelier who runs properties both in Darjeeling and Gangtok, referring to the filling of the enumeration forms.

According to figures from this hotelier, while occupancy was 64 per cent in November 2024 for the group, it was only 43 per cent for November 25.

“However, tourist footfall picked up in the run-up to Christmas and extended till the first week of January,” the hotelier said.