Once a Maoist bastion, West Bengal's Jhargram district is now a tourist hub

When the stringent lockdown for Covid-19 was finally eased in July, Md Sarif Nawaz from Bardhaman in West Bengal decided that he had had enough of staying home.

Trains were still not running and taking a flight to another state was avoidable. But just four hours away was an option he was more than happy to revisit — Jhargram, with its dense sal, segun and mahua forests, picturesque villages and wildlife.

The electrical engineer and a friend of his went to spend three days in a small resort with separate cottages for rooms. “This was the ideal set-up in a pandemic. During the day, we would hire a car and go to the villages. In the evenings, we’d be back in the resort and spend time interacting with people from the local community who were employed there,” he says.

That stay convinced him that Jhargram was the getaway for him, at least for this year. He made three more trips. The big draw, he says, is the peace and quiet, the hospitable local community and the possibility to working from a serene location with high-speed internet.

Nawaz isn’t alone in choosing this district in the heart of the erstwhile colonial Jangal Mahal administrative area, named after the dense forests extending to Jharkhand from the western borders of West Bengal covering Bankura, Purulia, West Medinipur and Birbhum.

All the rooms in Chetona Eco Resort, where Nawaz stayed, are booked till the end of January, says Subhashish Deb Singha, its owner.

In fact, rooms in all 41 private hotels and resorts and the six government properties in Jhargram are booked till January, says Madhusudhan Karmakar, secretary of Jhargram Hotel Owners Welfare Association. “We opened the hotels from June 8 after the government clearance. In August and September, we had about 50 per cent occupation of rooms which is fairly good for the off season. But from October, we are seeing a surge. The numbers are at least 40 per cent more than usual.”

Karmakar says Jhargram has benefitted from more people choosing local travel this year than long-duration journeys. Also, the fact that North Bengal, the only other destination in the state with forests and hills, remained largely shut helped.

“This area has a lot to offer. There are adventure sports options like hiking in Belpahari and nearby Ajodhya Hills. One can experience the culture of the local Santhal and other communities, particularly during festivals,” says Karmakar.

Back in 2010-11, this region was a hotbed of political turbulence and a stronghold of the militant group, Communist Party of India (Maoist). But over the years, consistent efforts from the government have ensured lasting calm, says Karmakar. The Jhargram district was carved out of West Medinipur in 2017 to focus better on its administration.

The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation started packages for tourists that include unexplored areas such as Banspahari, Kankrajhor and Laljal — marked by rivers, waterfalls and hamlets. The Jhargram Palace, started in 2015, has become a popular heritage resort.