Darjeeling: That environmental and climate change is occurring in northern West Bengal is clear to all residents and most tourists but political parties do not see these as issues to be addressed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Fourteen candidates are vying for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, each vocalising their demands, promises, and grievances. However, conspicuously absent from their discourse is any mention of safeguarding Darjeeling’s local environment.
April is busy season in Darjeeling. West Bengal’s most popular hill station is abuzz with tourists at this time. The usual commercial billboards line the three-hour journey from Siliguri to Darjeeling, with political posters taking a backseat. With the polls are just days away, political fervour seems particularly subdued.
How local residents and animals suffer
Still known as the ‘queen of the hills,’ Darjeeling and its surroundings in North Bengal are known for tea and affordable tourism. This focus on affordability is key, as roughly 80-90% of Darjeeling’s visitors come from within Bengal itself and belong to the low-to-middle-income bracket. This unique tourist profile necessitates a tourism industry that caters to a range of budgets, offering experiences at various price points.
However, the region’s rapid expansion as a tourist hub has brought challenges. Resource distribution, overcrowding, and traffic congestion strain the local community.
To many residents, the boom in tourism has come at the expense of diminishing forest cover and agricultural land, pushing residents away from the top to down the hillside. The conversion of agricultural land for budget homestays has worsened water scarcity, with the hospitality industry placing a significant demand on local water resources.
Mohan Chhetri, a retired government employee has recently converted his house into a homestay while moving to nearby Gorubathan village of Kalimpong district. “Water is a major issue here. The Neorakhali water project was established decades ago to address water scarcity. However, with increate in hotels and homestays, we locals are the last to receive water,” he says.
This ecological destruction has far-reaching implications. Researchers of Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development – a regional inter-governmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region – warn of not only a dramatic shift in biodiversity but also potentially dangerous changes for human life in the region. The Kanchenjunga landscape is home to a multitude of endangered species, including the Himalayan Black Bear, Red Panda, Snow Leopard, and various birds. The study suggests many of these creatures are being pushed towards extinction due to habitat loss.
Darjeeling. Photo: By arrangement.
Extreme weather
But more importantly, according to an interactive tool in the Working Group 1 part of the Assessment Report (AR) 6 published by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) last August, rising global temperatures could cause Darjeeling’s average temperature to surpass even Delhi’s by the end of the century.
“People come to experience snow in winter and coolness in summer, but they do not notice that the environment has changed. I used to wear winter clothes here for all 12 months of the year. Now from July to September, I don’t need warm clothes during the day. I have to switch on the fan in the daytime. The whole thing is surprising,” said 70-year-old Krishna Subba, who has lived all his life in Darjeeling.
Darjeeling has an average yearly temperature of 16.7°C (62.1°F) with temperatures ranging from 14°C in July–September to 3°C in November–February. In recent times, the hill town has been witnessing snowfall more often leading to a high influx of tourists even during the winter.
“The environment has changed a lot in the last 20 to 25 years. Winters are getting colder and summers are hotter. The town is crowded with houses and hotels and the green cover is decreasing very fast,” said local teacher Gopal Chhetri.
Darjeeling. Photo: By arrangement.
Loss of forest cover
“Hills are getting hotter and here in the plains, I see rivers like Mahananda, Balasan and Mechi are being dug up by the sand mafia. As a result, the level of drinking water has gone down a lot even at the beginning of summer. And the risk of landslides is increasing in hilly areas,” said Gautam Ghosh, a resident of Naxalbari, in the plains of the Darjeeling constituency.
Indeed, the recent study by the ICMOD paints a grim picture of the Kanchenjunga landscape, which encompasses parts of India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Notably, 56% of the Indian portion falls within West Bengal, including 12 blocks in Darjeeling district and 13 blocks in Alipurduar district.
The study reveals a staggering loss of forest cover – as much as 1,118 square kilometres vanished between 2000 and 2010. Even more concerning, the rate of deforestation accelerated in the following decade. ICMOD’s ongoing survey is expected to confirm this alarming trend.
The consequences of deforestation are dire. A significant portion (74%) of the lost forest land have become settlements or vacant land, while the remainder (26%) has been converted to land for agriculture. ICMOD highlights that Bengal’s landscape has suffered significant deforestation in recent history, evident in satellite images showing a drastic decline in dense green cover over the past decade.
“According to geological research, the Himalayan region in question is in a phase of ongoing development, characterised by a relatively soft soil and rock composition. The current trajectory of construction activities, including tunnelling through mountains, extensive deforestation, and damming projects, is triggering adverse consequences. It is imperative for political stakeholders to recognise that prioritising environmental protection would yield collective benefits for all involved,” said Animesh Basu of the Himalayan Nature Foundation.
Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.
