Transportation of tourists between the hills and the plains of north Bengal has once again hit a roadblock, with tourism stakeholders in the plains deciding to stop vehicles from the Darjeeling hills from picking up passengers in the Siliguri–Terai region from Tuesday.

On Monday, representatives of tourism and transport associations in the plains announced that vehicles registered in the Darjeeling hills would not be allowed to pick up tourists from Siliguri, Bagdogra airport, New Jalpaiguri railway station, or hotels in the Terai.

Debasis Maitra, chairman of the transport wing of Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association (EHTTOA), an apex body representing tourism stakeholders, said a meeting was held at Chatakpur (near Sonanda) on December 20 between a joint forum of transporters from the plains and their counterparts from the hills.

“Considering the festive rush, we requested the hill transporters to allow tourist vehicles from the plains to conduct sightseeing in the hills for at least two weeks. But our proposal was immediately rejected,” Maitra said.

Following the deadlock, a meeting was held in Siliguri on Monday, where transporters from the plains unanimously decided to bar hill-registered vehicles from picking up passengers in Siliguri, Bagdogra, NJP, and hotels in the Terai region.

Maitra clarified that regular public transport services, as well as essential passenger and goods movement, were excluded from the restriction.

“We do not want to inconvenience common residents. The decision applies only to tourist vehicles,” he added.

The joint forum of transporters’ associations, comprising representatives from 10 transport bodies of Siliguri and the Terai, submitted a memorandum outlining their decision to various authorities on Monday afternoon. The memorandum was addressed to the mayor of Siliguri, the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the district magistrate of Darjeeling, the commissioner of police of Siliguri, and the joint director of the state tourism department, through the SDO
of Siliguri.

According to sources, around 300 vehicles carrying tourists ply between the hills and the plains every day, especially during the festive season.

With the stalemate continuing, the GTA has decided to intervene in the issue.

“The GTA’s travel advisory committee has convened a meeting on December 24. The representatives of transporters from the hills and the plains, tourism stakeholders, district administration officials, and GTA authorities will be present at the meeting to find a solution,” said an official of the district administration.