E-Paper
200 tourists stranded in Sikkim
More than 200 foreign and domestic tourists have been stranded in Sikkim following the two-day bandh called by GJM in Darjeeling, officials said.
More than 200 foreign and domestic tourists have been stranded in Sikkim following the two-day bandh called by GJM in Darjeeling, officials said.
The tourists could not move out of landlocked Sikkim as the agitating GJM were not allowing the vehicles to ply on
National Highway 31-A, despite a Supreme Court ruling in January warning parties not to disrupt traffic movement in the arterial road.
"Steps would be taken to send the tourists from Gangtok to Siliguri if West Bengal police provide security," Superintendent of Police of Sikkim's East district M S Tuli said.
Vehicular movement along NH-31A is crippled on the second day after bandh supporters damaged 10 Sikkim-bound vehicles at Tarkhola in West Bengal on Saturday.
The ticket counters selling mainline tickets which include private buses and taxis are all closed here, causing inconvenience to people, especially tourists.
The buses of Sikkim Nationalised Transport to Siliguri and Kalimpong also did not run on Sunday. The helicopter services of Sikkim Tourism Department Corporation are booked till May 17, officials said.
