Transporters based in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and the hills who engage light vehicles to ferry tourists to Sikkim congregated here on Thursday and decided to flag certain issues before the Bengal transport department, seeking an immediate solution.

“Because of certain rules and restrictions in Sikkim, we are facing financial losses. That is why it has been decided to raise those issues with officials of the state transport department. We want the department to take up the matters with their counterparts in Sikkim,” said Jayanta Majumdar, convener of the transport coordination committee of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN).

HHTDN is an apex body of tourism stakeholders in north Bengal and the Northeast.

Majumdar pointed out that unlike Bengal where vehicles registered in Sikkim are allowed to move freely, vehicles from Bengal, whether from Siliguri, Jalpaiguri or the hills, are only allowed to pick up and drop passengers at designated locations like Gangtok and Pelling.

“These vehicles are not allowed to take tourists on sightseeing or to other places in Sikkim. Tourists also face inconvenience as they have to change vehicles a number of times,” he added.

Another issue, which the representatives of HHTDN have mentioned is the problem of permits.

For any commercial light vehicles of Bengal, the state transport department issues a recommendation letter for a period of one year so that it is allowed to enter Sikkim.

“Based on the recommendation, the Sikkim government permits entry of such vehicles with a fee of 2,500 rupees. However, instead of permitting the vehicle to enter the state for a year, the permission is allowed only till December 31 of the concerned year. This again, increases the costs of transporters,” said a source.

For example, if a recommendation letter is issued by the Bengal transport department on June 17, 2024, it will be valid till June 2025. But the Sikkim government will grant permission till December 31, 2024, that is, for a period of less than six months.

Around 3,000 light vehicles from Bengal carry passengers to Sikkim.

“We also want to point out that vehicles with all-India permits are not allowed in Sikkim. On several occasions, cases were registered against such vehicles, even though there is a permit to travel across India,” said another transporter.

At today’s meeting, they decided to send a letter to the joint secretary of the State Transport Authority (STA) of Bengal.

“There is a reciprocal agreement among the two states (Bengal and Sikkim) regarding movement of vehicles. We want the transport department of our state to consult transporters and other stakeholders before making any amendments to the agreement,” said Samrat Sanyal, general secretary, HHTDN.