Tea & Tourism Festival begins in Darjeeling

Zeenat boogied to one of her song that was played by a local band and also sang a line from Dum Maro Dum much to the elation of the crowd at Chowrastha. "It is wonderful to be among such nice and loving people. Darjeeling has remained as it was years ago," she said. And much to delight of people, Zeenat promised, "I will urge Bollywood directors to come to Darjeeling to make their films."If Zeenat was the main attraction, local girl Mahima Chowdhury was not far behind. "Darjeeling is my most prized possession. I am overjoyed to be back in the place where I grew up and studied," she said.

The festival is a brainchild of the district administration and has been organized with the support of the GJM and various NGOs. "The festival is a humble effort to refurbish Brand Darjeeling. We hope this endeavor will provide the impetus to promote tourism," said Soumitra Mohan, Darjeeling DM and president of the festival organizing committee. North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb, who was the chief guest on the opening day, said the process of converting Darjeeling into Switzerland started with the festival. "I firmly believe that this kind of festival will boost the economy of Darjeeling in future as tea and tourism are the region's strength," he said.The festival will offer various outdoors activities like paragliding, river rafting and kayaking among the several activities. Besides, tourist will be able to participate in tea testing and dig into ethnic delicacies. Special discount for guests in all hotels is also on offer. The festival will continue till January 5.

Darjeeling MLA Trilok Dewan who was one of the dignitaries emphasized on the fact that the festival would restore the past glory of the Hills as a tourist destination that had taken a beating over the years due to various reasons. "Darjeeling tea has reached the farthest corners of the globe but not tourism. With this festival we want Darjeeling tourism to go global," he pointed out.

Earlier in the day various communities of the Hills in their traditional attire, school children, mountaineers, social organizations led by the Darjeeling police band participated in a parade that started off from Chowk Bazaar and culminated in Chowrastha. Both Zeenat and Mahima were the start attraction of the parade though the two after walking few meters were whisked away in their cars to the inaugural venue. The festival will be held simultaneously in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik