A three-pillar snapshot of the September 21 review meeting on roads, drinking water, and tourism infrastructure in Darjeeling and Kalimpong. (Graphic: KhabarDarjeeling)
Darjeeling Will Be Number One Hill Station Again Within Five Years, Says PWD Minister Ajay Poddar
PWD & PHE minister Ajay Poddar chairs review meeting on the Circular Road, Jal Jeevan Mission, and new tourism proposals for Darjeeling and Kalimpong
West Bengal's Public Works Department (PWD) and Public Health Engineering (PHE) minister Ajay Kumar Poddar chaired a review meeting in Darjeeling on Monday, September 21, on road construction, drinking water, and tourism infrastructure projects across Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.
"Development in Darjeeling had gone retrograde under the past governments," Poddar said. "We will turn this around in the next five years and make Darjeeling the number one hill station, as it was in the yesteryears."
Drinking water: pushing the Jal Jeevan Mission
A major part of the PHE review focused on the Jal Jeevan Mission, the scheme aimed at giving rural households functional tap water connections. Poddar directed officials to complete all sanctioned projects within their stipulated timelines and to prioritise works that remain incomplete, stressing clear responsibility, coordination, and accountability across departments.
He also said he has instructed police to auction seized vehicles currently parked along roadsides, as part of an effort to ease traffic congestion.
Roads: a circular road, a new highway, and a bridge at Bijanbari
On the roads side, the review covered ongoing, completed, and proposed projects in both districts. Among the larger plans discussed:
| Project | Detail |
|---|---|
| Darjeeling Circular Road | 18 km; tender already floated, to be operational soon |
| Siliguri–Darjeeling–Damdim alternate highway | Proposed, roughly 200 km, part of the Darjeeling–Sundarban highway announced in the West Bengal Budget 2026–27 |
| New bridge at Bijanbari | Detailed Project Report (DPR) approved by the minister |
| New roads | Dowhill to Dilaram; Jamuney to Pulbazar |
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, who attended the meeting, said talks are also underway with the relevant authorities to keep the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) tracks and National Highway 110 between Siliguri and Darjeeling clear of the traffic jams caused by DHR joyrides.
Tourism and parking
The meeting also took up tourism-linked proposals, including a ropeway connecting Kurseong and Darjeeling and plans to develop Jamuney as a tourism hub.
On parking, Bista said new facilities are proposed at Ghoom, Lebong, Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik, while existing parking capacity in Darjeeling town is set to be expanded.
What the review was meant to achieve
Officials said the broader goal of the meeting was to identify bottlenecks and set priorities for the timely execution of infrastructure and drinking water projects across both hill districts.
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Source: Reported by Amitava Banerjee, Darjeeling, September 21 (print report shared via Voice of Darjeeling, Facebook)
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