Darjeeling and Digha – All set to welcome tourists.

Digha and Darjeeling are two west Bengal’s favorite tourist spots—both the destinations are set to reopen from July 1 for tourists.

While the WB government agrees to open beaches and allow enjoying in the sea, across Digha-Shankarpur-Tajpur and Mandarmoni popular beaches in West Bengal) but there are certain restrictions will there as per guideline to minimize the risk of the spread of the COVID19. Not more than 50% rooms of a hotel will be allowed to be booked in signal go, complete sanitization of rooms will be compulsory, tourists and all hotel employees will have to undergo thermal screening for body temperature before entry and will have to sanitize their hands, food will be served only in reserved rooms and tourist vehicles will have to be sanitized completely. Swimming in the sea will be allowed, but no picnic can be held on the beach. In the Darjeeling Hills, where few hotels had opened last month, they soon shut down. Tourist spots under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration will now see phased reopening.

Digha-Shankarpur Development Board on Friday gave the green flag to open all hotels and resorts. “Everyone has agreed to comply with rules across the area. We hope even tourists will cooperate,” said Biprodas Chatterjee, joint secretary, Digha Hoteliers’ Association. The coastal area faced trouble in June. When some tourists illegally went out of a hotel in Mandarmoni and a protest was later preformed against tourism in Digha during lockdown time.

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The administrator of the Digha-Shankarpur Development Board, Sujan Dutta said a 5-members committee would monitor if the hotels followed rules. “The panel can ask for action against rule violators,” he said. Some hoteliers said they would include all concerns, including sanitization cost, before taking bookings. “We are working out the economics,” said Shankar Sarkar, a Mandarmoni hotel manager.

The tourism department is ready to open all spots under GTA in phases from 1st July 2020, following the state’s unlock directives. A helpline both, run by Darjeeling Police, is operational at all entrance point to the Darjeeling hills and traveler can seek help there if required. Following a meeting among tourism stakeholders at the GTA secretariat in Darjeeling, solid steps are all set to be announced. “The department will take all initiatives to revive tourism in the Hills. Hotels will reopen, following government SOP,” an official said.

The reopening news of Darjeeling and Disha elicited a mixed reaction from Kolkatan people. While some plead for the need for a break and boost for the economy and some debate about health. Some seemed to prefer same-day trips to Digha. “We have waited for so long. At least now we can go on a trip,”

Governments are trying all possible ways to resume tourism for both tourism industries and tourists, they are doing there duty well now its out time to showcase some efforts and cooperate with the guidelines provided by the government to stop novel coronavirus.

Also read : Goa restart tourism