The Darjeeling Dooars Sikkim Times

07/02/2024

Valentine's Day, observed annually on February 14th, is a special occasion devoted to the expression of love and affection.. While traditionally associated

01/02/2024

Unlocking the mystery

To understand why Howrah Bridge has no pillars, we must delve into its historical evolution. The bridge, opened to the public in 1943, was conceived during a

01/02/2024

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10/09/2023

Narendra Modi government uses ‘Bharat’ card at G20 Leaders’ Summit, shuns ‘India’

The government on Saturday continued its experiment with the name of the country, using “Bharat” in English instead of “India” at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in the place card for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in each session while his official website continued to use “India”.

23/02/2021

EMPLOYMENT NEWS

18/02/2021

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17/02/2021

Demonstration for dues marks Duncans Goenka group's tea garden reopening in Dooars
Representatives of a new company who arrived to reopen a tea garden of the Duncans Goenka group in the Dooars on Tuesday and run it on an interim basis were greeted with protests by around 1,000 workers who demanded the immediate payment of all dues.
The protest was of a rare kind in the Bengal tea industry where workers hold celebrations on Day 1 of any estate’s reopening.
The Birpara tea estate with around 2,200 labourers had been lying abandoned since September 2019.
The state labour department had taken initiatives to facilitate the estate’s reopening and accordingly, a meeting was recently held in Siliguri where it was decided that Merico Agro Industries Limited would run operations on an interim basis.
Merico director Surojit Bakshi and Mohan Sharma, the chairman of the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, reached the Birpara estate around 10am on Tuesday to reopen it.

They were, however, surprised to find around 1,000 workers — mostly from the Tukra-Jateswar division — assembled near the entrance. The workers shouted slogans, saying their outstanding wages and bonus should be cleared or else, they wouldn’t allow the estate’s reopening.
Bakshi, Sharma and other Trinamul leaders started talks with the demonstrators who relented after three hours. Around 1pm, the workers allowed the Merico director to enter the garden and it was formally reopened.
Each worker of the estate was paid Rs 1,000 by the new management.
A police team was at the site of the demonstration to prevent any breach of law and order.
Mannalal Jain, the vice-president of the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, alleged that BJP and some “non-workers” had orchestrated the demonstration.
“It was unfortunate that some non-workers, instigated a section of labourers to hold the demonstration. We suspect the BJP also had a hand in the protests. Notwithstanding several promises to the workers of the Duncans group’s tea estates, BJP leaders have failed to do anything for them so far. After the state government’s initiative materialised, the BJP has tried to foil the reopening. Workers always wanted the garden to reopen and are with us,” said Jain.
Alipurduar MP John Barla and Birpara-Madarihat MLA Manoj Tigga — both from the BJP — were in the garden on Tuesday.
The protests, sources said, were also backed by the Paschimbanga Khet Mazdoor Samiti.
Anuradha Talwar, a representative of the samiti, said according to court’s order, Duncans cannot hand over the garden to any other company.
“More importantly, prior to reopening any closed tea garden, the dues should be cleared. We will file an appeal in Calcutta High Court to stop such illegal handover of the garden to new management,” she said.
Bakshi, the director of Merico, said some time was needed to clear the dues.
“Like other gardens, we will gradually clear the workers’ dues in Birpara. But if a demand is made to clear the dues at one go, there would be immense pressure on us. In the remaining four tea gardens (of Duncans), there are no dues as of now,” he said.
News Source- The Telegraph.

13/02/2021

Push for two new municipalities in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar
The Mamata Banerjee government came up with notifications announcing constitution of two new civic bodies — at Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri district and Falakata in the neighbouring district of Alipurduar — on Thursday and specified the rural areas which would be brought under the new municipalities.
The move, Trinamul insiders believe, will give a major boost to the party in both these districts as long standing demands of the residents of Maynaguri and Falakata — most of them had sided with the saffron camp in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls — have been met.
On Thursday, the notification issued by the state mentioned that the Madhabdanga-I and Maynaguri panchayats, along with portions of Khagrabari-I and Domohoni-I panchayats of Maynaguri block.
“Around 45,000 people dwell in the proposed area, with a population density of around 7,000 people. Among them, 80 per cent are not associated with the agricultural sector,” said an official in the district administration.
It may be mentioned that in Bengal, an area can be declared a civic body if it has a population of at least 30,000 people, a population density of 750 people (living per square kilometre) and half or more of the adult population is not associated with agriculture.
“Now that the notification has been made, a board of council would be formed that will hold a meeting after three months. After the meeting, a final notification would be made where the number of wards, along with reservation of seats, would be announced,” said an official.
Similarly in Falakata, another locality where residents have been demanding the “the formal urban tag” or announcement of a municipality, the new civic body will cover two panchayats and parts of two other panchayats of Falakata block. These are Falakata-I & II, Parengerpar and Guabarnagar. Altogether, around 55,000 people reside in these areas which would be demarcated as municipal wards in due course.
Once the civic body comes into existence, it will be the second municipality in Alipurduar district. In north Bengal, the only other district that has a single civic body is Kalimpong.
“The chief minister had made the announcement on December 5 and has kept her promise. We have been raising the demand for years now and it is Mamata Banerjee who has met it. We are confident that people will stand with us not and not with BJP,” said Subhash Roy, the Trinamul president of Falakata block.
In 2016, Trinamul had managed to win both Falakata and Maynaguri Assembly seats. However, in the 2019 Parliament elections, BJP had secured leads in both these Assembly segments. “It is yet another major move by Mamata Banerjee to draw support from people of these two seats as well as from adjoining areas,” said an observer.
News Source- The Telegraph.

12/02/2021

Police and Left youths clash, bandh today

The march of 10 Left student and youth organisations such as SFI and DYFI to Nabanna on Thursday took a violent turn as the police and protesters clashed, leaving many injured and prompting the Left Front to call a 12-hour strike on Friday against “police brutality”.
Police sources said 38 protesters and 25 policemen were injured in the clash, and 42 protesters were arrested.
SFI state secretary Srijan Bhattacharya, however, claimed around 400-500 protesters had been hospitalised.
Thursday’s march to demand jobs started from College Street and was to reach Nabanna to hand over a list of demands to chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “All we wanted was to give the list to the chief minister. They could’ve arrested us there (Nabanna) but instead cops brutally beat us up on the road,” said Minakshi Mukherjee, DYFI state president.
The police had put up layers of barricades to stop the rally at Dorina Crossing in Esplanade. The Left outfits, however, wanted to breach this and head towards Nabanna.
Police sources said at least 25 police pickets had been set up along the route of the rally and some 4,000 personnel were on duty. All alleys along the SN Banerjee Road, which the rally took to reach Esplanade, were blocked by the police and water cannons had been set up at two points.
Eyewitnesses said trouble started at Dorina Crossing when the police halted protesters. As some protesters tried to break barricades, the police fired water cannons and tear gas shells. When protesters tried to counter with stones, the police did the same. As tension grew, the police lathicharged protesters.
Left sources said a protester’s eye was injured and many others were gravely wounded.An angry Left Front leadership reacted to “police brutality” with a 12-hour bandh call from 6am on Friday.
“When BJP goons go on a rampage in the name of protest, the police do nothing. But they brutally come down on a peaceful protest of Left student and youth outfits,” said Left leader Sujan Chakraborty.
The Congress, whose youth wing had taken part in Thursday’s rally, condemned the police attack. Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Abdul Mannan said his party would back Friday’s strike. The strike coincides with the day schools are set to re-open after almost a year of Covid-induced shutdown.
The Bengal government issued a notification on Thursday evening cancelling all types of leave for government employees and those in state-aided institutions in view of the strike called by the Left on Friday. Employees who don’t attend duties on Friday will face a day’s pay cut and a day’s deduction from their service life.
News Source- TheTelegraph.

12/02/2021

WISHING YOU ALL HAPPY LOSAR.

11/02/2021

BJP MP Raju Bista seeks national law on workers' land rights

BJP MP Raju Bista of Darjeeling in Parliament on Tuesday raised the demand to develop a national legislation for granting land rights to tea and cinchona plantation workers.
The demand for workers’ land rights is a key issue of both factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, now allies of Trinamul. Though Bista has been talking about land rights, the issue is not stated in the BJP manifesto unlike that of the Binay Tamang camp of the Morcha.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), under Rule 377 of the Parliament, which permits us to raise the matters of urgent public importance, I raised the issue of developing a national legislation for granting Parja Patta land rights to tea and cinchona garden workers,” Bista said in a written statement.
The Darjeeling legislator seems to be looking at a provision similar to the one prescribed in The Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forests Rights) Act, 2006.
“It has become apparent to me that the only way to ensure justice for them is through the intervention of the Union Govt. Just as how the Union Govt has enacted the Forest Rights Act (2006) to provide land rights to the forest dwellers, I believe the workers from our region will get justice with the Union Govt enacting a law which will guarantee Parja Patta rights for our tea and cinchona garden workers (sic),” Bista’s statement reads.
The state government can grant land rights to tea gardens and cinchona plantations. Bista’s decision to seek central intervention could put the Trinamul and its hill allies in a spot, observers feel.
Over 3 lakh people work in the tea gardens of north Bengal and can influence some 15 of 54 Assembly seats in north Bengal.
Even in Darjeeling hills land rights is a major issue as more than 70 per cent of the hill population do not have it.
The Binay Tamang camp of the Morcha had made land rights a major poll issue in the last Lok Sabha polls and Darjeeling Assembly bypolls, both in 2019.
The first part of the Lok Sabha budget session will end on February 13 but the second part of the session will start from March 8 and is likely to carry on till April 8. Bengal is likely to go for elections from April as the tenure of the present state government ends in May.
News Source- The Telegraph.

10/02/2021

Mamata mum on Congress and Left

Mamata Banerjee, in a conspicuous departure from her campaign speeches this season, on Tuesday was silent on Congress spearhead Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while delivering an address in his backyard Behrampore, and relatively muted on the Left.
Sources in Trinamul attributed this to her growing understanding that the better the Congress-Left alliance performs in the state polls the worse it will be for the BJP.
Sources said she had also been receiving “back channel communication” that support from the Congress might be readily available, should the results yield a hung House.
The chief minister, in her 35-minute address at Murshidabad’s Behrampore Stadium grounds, did not pull punches in her attack on the BJP before the audience of over a lakh.
“The Congress and the CPM cannot act against (cannot defeat) the BJP any longer,” said Mamata towards the beginning without elaboration.
Arriving by chopper around 2.30pm, Mamata focused on Trinamul turncoat Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP’s catch of the season, referring obliquely to him as a modern Mir Jafar, a sobriquet commonly used to describe a traitor in Bengal.
She also slammed AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, without naming him, for allegedly being a BJP paid agent to erode her minority support base.
But a bulk of her speech was directed against Narendra Modi, his government at the Centre, and his party.
“Have you ever heard of a Prime Minister who speaks lies? He alleged our state does not pay its employees their salaries. Modiji, please tell me whom you were referring to. Rather, it is you who is selling off everything the Centre owns,” she said, stirring a supportive crowd of largely migrant workers who returned home in the pandemic.
The 22-seat district of Murshidabad is important to Mamata as there is scope for her party to grow there. In the 2016 state polls, Trinamul won four seats in the district with over 67 per cent minority voters. The Congress, under Chowdhury, won 14, and the Left four. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamul gained decisive leads in 16 Assembly segments, while the Congress was reduced to five. The BJP had a lead in the Murshidabad Assembly segment.
This time, Mamata will reach out to migrant workers with the Modi government’s “lockdown mega blunder”, a Trinamul MP said.
Last year, at the peak of the pandemic, the plight of migrant workers took centrestage, with questions on why Modi announced a nationwide lockdown with a four-hour notice minus steps to cushion the vulnerable.
“Four-hour notice to pack up and move our lives,” scoffed Arabinda Mondal, who used to work in Kerala and has since returned, at the rally.
News Source- The Telegraph

09/02/2021

Boarder poser for hill schools as classes set to resume

Hill institutions with mostly day scholars have decided to start classes in a staggered way from this month for the first time since the pandemic, though many with boarding facilities are still indecisive.
The state government has allowed classes for Class IX and above to start from February 12.
A source said heads of ICSE and ISC schools in Kalimpong district held a meeting on Friday and decided to start classes from February 15 onwards. ICSE and ISC schools in Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions have decided to reopen schools between February 18 and 22.
“We will start with half days of classes for a week and then plan and make decisions depending on how things shape up,” said an ICSE school principal from Kalimpong.
Many hill schools with boarding facilities are, however, yet to take any decision.
“The government directive is not very clear on whether boarders can be kept in school. We will hold a meeting (among boarding schools and probably with the district administration) this week before deciding on starting classes,” a head of an institution with both boarders and day scholars said.
Students come to hill boarding schools not only from different states but also abroad. Many boarding school heads fear that if anything went wrong the institution might come under scanner.
Some schools with boarding facilities that have decided to start classes are weighing options. “To start with, we have to look into the number of boarders who turn up,” a school head said.
Depending on the number, some schools are planning to host students in paying guest facilities so that all children do not stay in the same premises.
However, the head of a school with boarders and day scholars said they were confident of handling the situation. “Our boarder strength is 260 but the number of boarders above Class IX would not be more than 60, and we think social distance can be maintained in hostels,” the school head said.
However, schools with day scholars are also clear that they would first take written consent from guardians. “We will not force any guardian to send his or her ward to school. Even though we will follow all laid down protocols, we are thinking of getting a written consent from parents about sending their wards to school,” said a school head.
There are over 50 ICSE schools in Darjeeling hills of which nearly 15 have boarding facilities.

05/02/2021

Mamata: BJP finished ‘Golden India’

Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged the Bengal electorate to heed the advice of one former CPM chief minister and borrowed from the lexicon of another, accusing the BJP of finishing Sonar Bharotborsho (Golden India) and mocked it for promising Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal).
Speaking at a Trinamul Congress event in the city on Thursday evening, she first appealed to the people to learn the lesson CPM’s former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar was trying to teach here on Tuesday. Then, Mamata converted former Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s 2001 campaign slogan into her own.
“In this situation, the Trinamul Congress’s alternative is the Trinamul Congress. There is none other…. From Trinamul to an improved Trinamul,” the Bengal chief minister said at the event aimed at wooing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The line was virtually an echo of Bhattacharjee’s clarion call from exactly two decades ago — while he was trying to ward off then his challenger-in-chief, Mamata — that the only alternative to the Left Front was an improved Left Front.
Shortly before that, Mamata had brought up “Manikbabu”.
“How well do you know the BJP? Tripura’s former chief minister, Manikbabu, he has said here… that go, see for yourselves in Tripura, what they have reduced the people to. Down to the last rickshaw-puller, a cart-puller… government employees, teachers… none has been spared,” said the Trinamul chief, who had alluded to Sarkar’s counsel, but not with such stress.
Mamata seems to have latched on to Sarkar’s message, especially with an eye on Left voters swinging away towards the BJP, which had purportedly handed the saffron camp 18 seats in the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal in 2019.
At a Burdwan rally on Tuesday, Sarkar, a CPM politburo member, had cautioned against bringing the BJP to power in Bengal.
“Take a train and visit Tripura.… you talk to common people like rickshaw pullers, grocers… to know the reality. They will surely tell you what a blunder they committed by voting for the BJP,” said Sarkar.
On Thursday, Mamata advised the BJP to first see their own faces in the mirror.
“Charity begins at home. What is happening in your Gujarat, your Uttar Pradesh, your Madhya Pradesh, your Bihar… from Tripura to Assam?” she asked.
“Just go and ask Bengalis in Tripura today, my dear sisters and brothers. Most of them common people, who used to shout slogans once that ‘CPM ashiya, Tripura dilo bhashaiya (The CPM came and sent Tripura floating)”. Those same people, today they say: ‘BJP ashiya, Tripura dilo bhashaiya (The BJP came and sent Tripura floating),” she added. “Go (to Tripura) once, you will see for yourself. So many have run away and have come to live here now.”
On March 3, 2018, the evening of the Tripura Assembly polls results, a visibly displeased Mamata had blamed the Tripura results on the Left’s “avoidable and abject surrender” and the Congress’s failure to accept her offer of a seat adjustment.
On Thursday, she said: “Even now, I feel so sad. Defections from the Congress made the BJP strong there (in Tripura), brought it to power. The BJP thinks it can use the same formula here, with some traitors from Trinamul…. Shameless.”
Mamata then went on to mock the BJP over its Bengal campaign promise.
“Sonar Bangla? Is it that easy, BJP-babus? Do you even know what real gold is?” she asked.
“Big lectures? Sonar Bangla? They finished my Sonar Bharotborsho…. Street-fights, in every corner of the nation. Farmers don’t get justice, workers don’t either. Mothers and sisters are dishonoured. Journalists get beaten up. I feel shame for what they do,” she added.
News Source- The Telegraph.

22/01/2021

Message from Alipurduar MP John Barla about 15% hike in tea wages.

21/01/2021

Bengal decides on 15% hike in tea wages

The state labour department has decided on an interim hike of 15 per cent in the daily wages of workers and monthly salaries of staff and sub-staff serving Bengal’s tea industry, which is likely to be a leverage for the ruling Trinamul in the brew belt before Assembly polls.
Tea workers, who now receive Rs 176 a day, will get a hike of Rs 26 that will increase the daily wage rate to Rs 202, sources said.
“Also, staff and the sub-staff serving in tea estates will get a hike of 15 per cent on gross salaries...The revised rates will be effective from January 1 this year,” said Ziaul Alam, convener of Joint Forum, an apex body of tea trade unions.
The decision, which will benefit close to three lakh workers and 10,000 staff and sub-staff, was taken at a tripartite meeting convened by the state labour department here on Wednesday in the presence of Bengal labour minister Moloy Ghatak, senior officials of his department, representatives of tea planters’ associations and tea trade unions.
This interim hike in tea wage, sources said, came after October 2018.
Tea trade union leaders said that it was pointed out at the meeting that an interim hike was needed at once, as the dates of the Assembly polls could be declared any time. Once dates were declared, the model code of conduct would kick in and nothing could be done.
“That is why the state labour department took this step. They are also likely to issue the notification soon. We have, however, made it clear that talks for the final revision of salaries of the staff and sub-staff and for fixing the minimum daily wage for tea workers should continue,” said Saman Pathak, the Darjeeling district Citu secretary.
Tea planters said that they agreed to the hike but also flagged productivity issues at the meeting.
“It is necessary that the state takes initiative to address productivity issues. Rise in the cost of production vis-à-vis yield is a major concern in tea estates,” said Sumit Ghosh, secretary of the north Bengal branch of Tea Association of India.
The Mamata Banerjee government has already started the Cha Sundari housing scheme in the tea belt. However, the interim wage hike decision, political observers said, may help Trinamul steal a march on its political opponents, especially the BJP. In north Bengal, votes of tea workers and their families decide the results of at least 15 Assembly seats.
In neighbouring Assam — India’s largest tea producing state with the saffron party in power — the daily wage happens to be Rs 167 in the tea sector. Trinamul will surely highlight the Rs 35 difference in wages in Bengal and Assam, pointed out observers.
“In fact, the wage in Assam is even lower in places like the Barak valley,” said an observer. “But even if we consider Rs 167 (as the average) in Assam, Bengal’s current wage rate is Rs 9 higher, but after the interim hike comes in force, the difference will increase to Rs 35. This would surely prompt Trinamul to raise the issue during campaign to counter BJP,”
Like Bengal, Assam also faces elections in the first half of this year, with the BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal government seeking a fresh term. Tea wage is a political issue there too.
“Assam Cha Mazdoor Sangh has recently launched the ‘Shramik Garjan’ (workers’ roar) campaign over wage revision,” said a political analyst. “In this context, the ACMS will surely mention the hike announced by the Bengal government. It will be interesting to see how the BJP government there handles the issue.”
The ACMS has demanded a daily wage of Rs 351 for tea workers in Assam, said sources.
News source- The Telegraph.

20/01/2021

Bhaichung to launch a soccer academy in Siliguri

Bhaichung Bhutia, one of India’s first football superstars, will start an academy in Siliguri, a move that could be a game changer for the football crazy region.
The ace Indian striker had been looking at the state government for land for the project but with things failing to fall in place he decided to take personal initiative.
On his investment, Bhutia told The Telegraph: “I have just bought my own property in Siliguri to set up an academy. Earlier we were looking at the government to give land, so enough of it now.”
Bhutia’s disclosure comes close on the heels of his decision to revive the United Sikkim Football Club (UFSC).
The club, formed by Bhutia and two of his friends Sherpa Lepcha and Arjun Rai back in 2004, was among the top 10 clubs of India in its heydays.

Bhutia decided to wind it up in 2019. A couple of weeks back, he reversed the decision.
The Siliguri football academy could be a major boon for budding players from north Bengal. Expected to come up in the next few years, the academy is likely to be a training centre for the Sikkim club.
Topographically, it is challenging to get an open space for football training in Sikkim’s hilly terrain, so Siliguri is a better choice. Bhutia admitted “space is going to be very challenging in Sikkim”.
The former skipper of the Indian football team said United Sikkim’s training ground might be shifted to Siliguri.
“If we qualify for I-League or ISL (Indian Super League, the highest professional football league in India), than obviously while most matches will be played in Sikkim, we can look at having some matches in Siliguri as well, if the stadium does qualify for ISL standards,” said Bhutia.
A few decades back, Siliguri would host international matches but not of late.
Bhutia was in Darjeeling as a chief guest at the finals of a football tournament started by Darjeeling police. A total of 221 teams, including 25 women’s teams, registered for the tournament, a figure that surprised Bhutia. “It is a great initiative of Darjeeling police...I am surprised as you don’t get these numbers even in big states. There were quite a lot of talented girls,” said Bhutia.
Darjeeling police started the tourney as a part of its police-public outreach under the Khel Utsav initiative. Darjeeling police won both the men and women category to take home Rs 1 lakh each. Runners-up were men’s URFC Rangbull (Jorebunlow) and women’s TIIEDI’s WE FC (Sadar), who received Rs 50,000 each.
News Source- The Telegraph.

18/01/2021

Experience Colombo through the eyes of the local!

It is believed that a war or any natural calamity changes the mindsets and way of living of people. After a long history of civil war that the country had to deal with, and not to forget the April 2019 blasts and the ongoing pandemic paired with series of lockdowns, it is fair to say that the locals here have seen enough. But while most examples of post-war countries pack a sense of uneasiness to themselves, Sri Lanka on the other hand made me feel as if nothing tragic had ever happened here! They have not only moved past that dark history but have also created a sense of joy in their society by celebrating life in every way possible.
The island was always on my radar and I was so glad that I could make my maiden trip to Sri Lanka with India’s favourite lifestyle trendsetter Riaan George. You can see him gush over the country on social media and he also calls it his second home. Being an (almost) local he planned out an action-packed itinerary to show us Colombo’s entrepreneurial and artistic side.
A two-and-half-hour Air Vistara flight took us to Colombo from Mumbai. A quick 40-minute drive from the airport gave us a glance of the ocean road, the old city followed by grand homes which lead us to the hotel. Upon our arrival, we were welcomed by the local Kandyan dancers who performed the national dance for us. The men dressed in traditional Ves costume and armed with powerful expressions, set a tone for the trip!
When you are in a beach town, an ocean-facing view is a must and Mövenpick Hotel Colombo gave me just that! I could not just catch the sunset from there but also witness a beautiful moon rising! On our first night in the city, we got a surprise welcome gift from LOVI that creates sarongs — Sri Lanka’s traditional wrap-around skirts with pockets. I paired mine with a smart
T-shirt and kicks for the sundowner at the rooftop bar for our welcome party!
Standing tall on the 24th floor of the hotel, The Vistas Bar gave a 360-degree view of Colombo’s coastline. With an outdoor deck and an infinity pool, this was a perfect spot to catch the magical sunset. The bar kept the spirits high with cocktails made using local fruits and bar snacks. My favourites were the Gal pol Cocktail made from arrack (a coconut flower alcohol) and Achcharu made with Tequila, salt-infused raw mango, Ambarella, pineapple, black pepper, chilli flakes. If you are visiting the city with your partner, then a sundowner at The Vistas Bar comes highly recommended.
The Breakfast Club
You can’t skip breakfast when in Sri Lanka, because that is when they serve their beloved dish — hoppers. At the Mövenpick Hotel Colombo, the breakfast spread serves the most authentic Sri Lankan breakfast of them all. At AYU — their all-day dining restaurant — the chefs put out a trolly with all types of hoppers — egg, string and plain along with Pol Roti. We were recommended to pair it with pol sambol, seeni sambol, katta sambol, Parippu curry or a good ’ol stew!

Meeting the locals
When you are travelling with a local, the places to visit aren’t what you might find in guidebooks or the heavily touristy ones. We started off exploring the city with lunch at The Black Cat Cafe. If you are a coffee lover then you should check this one out. Housed inside a beautiful Portuguese-style villa, the place is owned by a coffee-loving couple who moved to the island a decade ago and opened this cafe purely because they missed drinking good coffee.
If you are a home decor enthusiast like me, you can shop at Pendi, run by Natalie Pendigrast. Having worked in the home decor space for years, Natalie has a unique eye for sourcing local talent. From cane furniture, rugs, cement artefacts, lamp and art, she has it all. You can even buy organically made beauty products such as soaps, face masks, cleaners et al at Pendi. Most of the brands that Natalie features at her store are organic, cruelty-free, and most importantly, they are all sourced locally from budding artists or craftsmen from villages on the island.
Speaking of locals, there was one we met who had the high honour of meeting Queen Elizabeth II to showcase her work. Darshi Keerthisena runs a label called Buddhi Batiks that designs everything from bridal wear to casuals to swimwear using the batik print. Darshi’s father started the brand in the ’80s and now she is taking it to international fashion shows.
Take on a Tuk Tuk
The best way to travel around the city is in a tuk-tuk and on our final day in the city we did just that. The tuk-tuk safari team sends you a blue-and-yellow autorickshaw with a chauffeur dressed in a crisp white shirt and a safari cap. They take you on a tour of the city showing the highlight spots. They also double up as guides and tell all about the history of each of these sights. But the best thing about it all is that they keep an icebox for you inside which there’s cold coconut water, cola and the very local Lion Beer! And that for me, is the best way one should see this gorgeous city of Colombo.
Travel to Sri Lanka is expected to start from January 21, 2021 and only the two main airports — Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo) and Mattala International Airport (Hambantota) — will be operational. Travellers will have to take Covid-19 test 48 hours before entering the country and will have to re-take the test before arrival.
source- The Telegraph.