Kalimpong, June 13: After lending wings to Bagdogra’s dream of getting international status, Union tourism minister Jagmohan today unveiled his plans to convert Kalimpong into a tourism hub.

“There are a lot of unwanted but beautiful buildings in many places of the region. We want to utilise them. The locations of these old bungalows are also in scenic surroundings. We can easily convert these bungalows into tourist resorts,” Jagmohan told The Telegraph.

First in line for the makeover are the old bungalows in Munsong and Ghoom.

“There are beautiful places, particularly in Munsong, which can be tourist destinations. The main occupation is cinchona plantation. As cinchona plantation is also going through a bad phase, tourism can prove to be an alternative for the local people,” he added.

Elaborating on other plans to attract more tourists, Jagmohan said: “We want to convert old bungalows in Ghoom and Kurseong to tourist resorts. We are also exploring the possibility of making tourist huts on the way to Tiger Hill so that visitors can stay there.”

The huts, he added, would allow visitors to spend more time sightseeing around the Tiger Hill area and not go there only for a few hours to see the sunrise.

Stressing on the importance of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to boost tourism in the region, Jagmohan said: “The toy train will play an important part in boosting tourism. Ghoom and Kurseong are well connected by railway.”

The region, which has been receiving around Rs 7 crore for two or three years to promote the tourist spots, will be allocated additional funds to initiate the plans once a survey has been conducted to plan the approach to the facelift process, Jagmohan said. He added that a lot of work was needed to be done to improve the tourism prospects of Darjeeling.

“There are problems like haphazard constructions and water scarcity in the Darjeeling hills. We have to see what can be done to improve this,” he said.

The minister visited DGHC’s Deolo tourist lodge, where he was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the ministry of tourism. He met DGHC tourism officials and the Kalimpong subdivisional officer.

The minister will leave for Siliguri today where he will attend the Northeast Conclave from tomorrow.