Tourists take a nostalgic trip to ‘good old days’
KOLKATA: Sixty-five-year-old Annapurna Chakraborty distinctly remembers seeing elephants and deer, especially chitals, at the salt pit near the famous Hollong Bungalow in 2015. Her family loved the views from their room’s window. However, her heart broke on Tuesday when a fire destroyed the iconic Bungalow in Jaldapara National Park, Dooars, at 9.30 pm.
The loss was deeply personal for Annapurna. “It took my daughter months to book our stay. We even postponed our Dooars trip because we wanted to stay at Hollong Bungalow. It is here where I had my first jungle safari. My heart was heavy when I saw the video of the historic bungalow in flames,” said the Lake Town resident. The tourism community mourns the destruction of the bungalow by fire, with social media overflowing with nostalgic memories shared by travellers to Hollong. Among the thousands of Bengali tourists, actress Aparajita Ghosh Das also posted pictures from her visit with her husband, actor Ritwik Chakraborty and their son at the historic bungalow.
For nature lovers, Hollong has always been a paradise. Deepak Mondal, a 51-year-old bank employee from Salt Lake, recalled his honeymoon with wife Ranita more than 20 years ago at the bungalow. Both went on the elephant safari in Jaldapara National Park, where guests of Hollong had first priority. “We saw one-horned rhinos, deer, elephants and bisons. We spent three days at Hollong, mostly sitting outside on a bench, waiting for elephants to come to the salt pit. Visiting North Bengal won’t feel the same without Hollong. I hope the government and forest officials investigate and rebuild the bungalow. We don’t need a modern hotel. We want the same Hollong bungalow back,” he said. Built in 1967 within the Jaldapara forest in Madarihat, the Hollong bungalow has been a favourite among tourists from India and abroad. It has also been a popular summer retreat for late CM Jyoti Basu and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Advocate Sandipan Kundu remembered visiting Jaldapara in 2005 and seeing the Hollong Bungalow during his trip. “We were sightseeing in Dooars and saw the heritage bungalow. It’s sad to see it on fire. Were there no emergency arrangements to prevent such accidents?” he questioned. Susmita Kundu from Howrah recently visited Gorumara with her family and had plans to stay at Hollong bungalow in Jaldapara during her next trip to Dooars. “It’s heartbreaking that we won’t have the chance to stay at the iconic bungalow anymore,” she said.
