In light of the current pandemic situation of Covid-19 virus infection outbreak, this  petition is to request the authorities to halt the entry of all new tourists in Darjeeling.

Social distancing is recommend strategy by the scientists across the world to mitigate the spread of the virus before it explodes into a healthcare crisis. People already suffering from chronic diseases and our elderly folks are at a relative high risk of contamination and fatality if there is unchecked tourist flow right now in Darjeeling.

We as the homestay owners of Tieedi Forest Garden have already taken the step to cancel all our bookings until March 31st or till the situation is under control. Some of the other homestay and hotel operators have also taken similar steps. However, these steps would be too little too late if all the stakeholders do not participate in this exercise of self-mitigation.

The sooner we take this collective action to curtail the spread of the virus, the faster we we will be able to recover from it. Hence, we humbly request the respected Chairman of GTA, to take the step towards stopping the entry of all new tourists in Darjeeling till the growth curve of the pandemic is flattened.