Voices : Sikkim Tour Turned Nightmare 12 May 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I am Dr. Bipasha Sinha and am the Head of the Dept. of a College under Calcutta University. I have visited Sikkim in 1997 and 2002 and was always over-whelmed by its scenic beauty and the hospitality of the people residing there. This April I was in Sikkim from 17th April to 22nd April and I had a harrowing experience which I would like to share. I had booked my tours under Pratiksha Tours and Travels (M.G.Marg, Gangtok). The first day was the Changu-Baba Mandir-Nathula Pass tour. There were no problems in that tour although we could not reach Changu due to heavy snow on the way. The next day we had 3 days package tour to Yumthang-Gurudongmar Lake. We reached Vjara Stand at 10.30 am. The Bolereo (SKOIJ-0210) along with two of us and 6 more tourists left at 11.30 am. Our ordeal started thereafter. We had stopped at a place to have lunch. After lunch the car engine was not working. The driver Prashant was very rude and was not telling us the problem. After an hour the male tourists got down to manually push the car and with great effort it started. It was around 4 pm by then. After some time we reached a place called Tong around 6pm. It was dark and we left Tong after having coffee. The car moved a few kilometres and stopped. The driver informed us that the engine was not working, headlights were not working, there was no wiper for the front glass and we were stranded in the dark in the middle of the mountainous road. We all got very scared of the situation. Anyhow after great difficulty and manual pushing the car started but without headlights on or wipers. The car reached Chungthang around 7.30 pm and the driver told us to get down and that the car will not go any further without repair. It was raining continuously. We took shelter under a shed near a shop. The driver told us he would find a garage. After one hour the driver came back and told us that he could not find anyone to repair the car and that we had to stay there for the night. We were 3 women and 5 male tourists and the driver told us clearly that his job was to drive and that where we would spend the night was none of his business and he disappeared. It was around 8.30 pm and we were on the streets shivering in the cold and rain. The male tourists started calling their respective travel agents in Gangtok and all of them (travel agents) said they were sending a vehicle in half an hour or an hour. We waited till 9.30 pm ...no other vehicle came to our rescue. Then a local shopkeeper told us that there was a Gurudwara nearby and we could get a place to rest for the night there. Finally we approached the Gurudwara cheif Sardarji who gave us a place to sleep around 10.30 pm (all 8 of us slept on the floor in a single room). The next morning again we started calling up our agents in Gangtok and they gave the same answer that a car would be arriving in an hour or so. We kept on calling till 12 noon getting very confused and frustrated. Then the driver Prakash told us clearly that in this remote area no one but he the driver could save us....he asked us to pay Rs.2000 so that he could repair the car (which he said he would return once he reached Gangtok).After repairing the car we headed towards Lachung as the Gurodongma trip was not possible anymore (we had to return to Gantok the next day). We reached Lachung at 3 pm and had our lunch. The hotel rooms were very dirty (with very dirty linen and smelling blankets) and very ill furnished. The next morning we set out for the Yumthang Tour around 7.30 am. We reached the Valley of Flowers and had our breakfast. Then all of us hired snow boots to go to Zero point. We were all in the car but the driver wasn’t to be found. Finally he arrived and said that he needs to have breakfast. We waited in the car for him for at least 15 minutes. Then he came and we headed towards zero point. Earlier in 2002 I have been to zero point and the driver Prakash stopped midway and told us that place was zero point. When I told him that it wasn’t and that I had been there before, he abused me by saying that I was mad. I also told the driver that in zero point there is snow and we have hired boots for it, to which he blankly replied to me that ‘Have I told you to hire boots?’ Then some tourists who were coming from zero point told us that zero point is 12 kms ahead and they found lot of snow there. So we knew that the driver did not take us to the zero point which was mentioned in our tour itinerary. Then we made our journey back to Gangtok. On our way from Yumthang to Lachung, the car tyre burst and the cars jack was not working. The driver stopped another car and took the jack from him and replaced the type with a stepney. We lost considerable time there. We then went to Lachung, had our lunch and started our return journey to Gangtok. It was already 2.30 pm. The headlights were not working and the driver got down several times to wipe the front glass with a cloth as the wiper was not working. With sheer life risk because of driving in the mountains without headlights in the dark, we finally reached Gangtok at 8.30 pm at night totally exhausted and sick. The next day we went to our respective travel agents and complained of putting the incident on the newspaper. They returned half of the trip cost (Approx 1500Rs each). The driver Prakash also returned the Rs. 2000 he took to repair the car. It was indeed a horrible ordeal. I would like to put forward few questions for the Travel and tourism Department, Government of Sikkim. 1) I have come to know that the permission for travel is given to the Changu-Baba Mandir-Nathula first. After all the permits are issued, the Yumthang-Gorudongmar permits are issued which delays the journey. Why doesn’t the Sikkim tourism have separate counters and issue permits at the same time to both the routes? 2) The travel agents under which we booked were all registered under the Govt. Of Sikkim. So I think it is the government’s duty to conduct continuous inspection to see whether travel agents are responsible enough in carrying out their jobs. Note that the travel agents were contacted several times from Chungthang in the night and early morning and they kept on making false promises that they were sending a new car in an hour. But no help reached us. 3) The Tourism Dept. of Sikkim also needs to inspect cars which take passengers to these perilous mountainous roads.The lives of tourists are at risk as the car we were travelling had engine trouble, headlights and wipers were not working and tyres were bursting. The driver himself told us that the entire wiring of the car was faulty. 4) Finally I would request the Tourism Dept. to take some action as we, tourists come from very far destinations to enjoy a vacation and seek relief from our day to day hectic life. If we come here and are subjected to such a nightmare and life risk....it is a very sad situation and it will deter further tourists to come to Sikkim. 5) Moreover I would request the Govt. Of Sikkim to make proper arrangements on the way of regular tourist roads like a help desk or police kiosk, medical facility and if possible government shelter for stranded tourists. Yours Faithfully, Bipashasinha Dr. Bipasha Sinha
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 00:29:26 +0000
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