Durga Puja vacation rush: Strong tourist bookings reported in Dooars

Alipurduar, Sept. 17 -- The Dooars is gearing up for a major tourist rush during the Puja season, with hotels, resorts, lodges and homestays around Buxa, Chilapata and Jaldapara reporting strong bookings from Mahalaya to Kali Puja.

Tourist activity has picked up across Alipurduar and the Dooars since September 16, when forests and tourist destinations reopened after the monsoon closure. Tourism operators said October bookings are already encouraging, with only a few rooms vacant. They expect these to be booked in the coming weeks if weather conditions remain favourable.

However, operators have raised concerns over the difficulty of getting railway tickets during the Puja season. Railways remain a major mode of transport for tourists travelling to the Dooars from South Bengal. Tourism stakeholders said additional or special trains before Puja could attract more visitors to North Bengal.

Kinkar Roy, general secretary of the Bengal Association of Hoteliers and Tour Operators, said, "There is good booking for the Puja season. However, if the Railways introduces some special trains before Puja, more tourists from South Bengal will be able to visit North Bengal.

At the same time, if jeep safaris in Chilapata and Jaldapara are quickly brought under an online booking system, it will encourage more tourists from across the country and abroad to visit the region."

Road connectivity between Alipurduar and Kolkata has also improved, with the North Bengal State Transport Corporation and two private operators introducing modern bus services.

The Alipurduar District Hotel and Resort Association has also reported good bookings. Association president Pawan Purohit said: "There is good booking during the Puja season. However, there is scope for attracting even more tourists. We have always welcomed the initiatives taken by the state government to promote tourism. We have already placed some proposals before the administration for further development of tourism."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.