Kolkata: In spite of the fear of political turmoil, the pristine hill station of Darjeeling is getting ready for the upcoming festive holidays.

“The upcoming season looks promising. There are bookings of groups from several states Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India and Bengal,” said Pradeep Lama, secretary, Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents.

“October and November are the critical months for us as, from December, it becomes very cold and the elderly and the children may not want to visit the region,” added Lama.

With Indian-administered Kashmir out of bounds, due to the ongoing tension with Pakistan, the tourism industry in Darjeeling is hoping for a packed season. “Darjeeling will certainly be sought after by people who wanted to visit Kashmir this festive season. We hope the politicians do not spoil the party,” said Arvind Chetri, a shop owner in the Darjeeling mall road.

However, there is palpable tension as Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) — the most powerful political outfit in the region — has called a 12-hour strike on September 28 protesting against the comments made my chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The party’s chief Bimal Gurung has been threatening more uprising in the days ahead.

“There is concern as the season looks to bring in lot of tourists from all over the country. But if there is political disturbance then we may see lot of last minute cancellations,” said Subrbh Lepcha, an owner of a hotel.

However, most believe that GJM leaders will not do anything which will upset the locals which has been the main stay of their mass support. “GJM may be upset with Mamata over the political manoeuvring that she has conducted in the last few months. However, he (Gurung) will not do anything that hurts the livelihood of the locals,” said Umed Lama, a taxi driver.

The entire region is dependent on tourism and almost every house is directly or indirectly employed with the sector. “On last socioeconomic count, it was found that over 90 per cent of the households are dependent on income from tourist. Others who do not directly depend on it supplement their income based on tourist inflows,” said Supra, a native of Kurseong, now living in Kolkata studying hotel management.

Other state which also gets affected is Sikkim as the northern towns of Jalpaiguri and Siliguri acts as the gateway to the state. “We are the worst affected as we still do not have our own airport and is solely dependent on Bagdogra. If there is political turmoil there then tourist coming to our state is also affected,” says Bujang Subba, a member of Sikkim travel association.

Locals though are getting ready with prayers on their lips. “I set up a small eatery selling coffee and snacks to tourist every year during the last four months of every year. I have invested around Rs20,000 for the shop. If tourists do not come it will be a complete waste. My family depends on it as it supplements my husband’s income and helps us in getting a comfortable life,” said Shiring Lama, a mother of two.