Dooars, North Bengal
Dooars is not a specific place name. But it is a paradise on the earth. By crossing the Coronation Bridge on the Teesta River at Sevak, one can reach the doorstep of the Dooars. It is the trade and communication root in between Bhutan and India. So, in Bengali, it is known as Dooars or Duars, which means door. The region forms the gateway to Bhutan from India. There are 18 passages or gateways through which the Bhutanese people can communicate with the people living in the plains. Total area of the Dooars or Duars is 8,800 km2, which is divided by Sankosh River at West Bengal & Assam inter-states boundary into Eastern and Western Dooars. Western Dooars is also called Bengal Duars spreads over an area of 4,750 km2 in West Bengal, which is starting from Eastern Bank of Teesta River to Assam border.
The Dooars region politically constitutes the plains of Darjeeling Himalayas. It is a 130 km long and 48 km wide, a vast texture of dense forest, everlasting tea gardens, various Himalayan ice melted rivers, large numbers of wildlife forms a charming and dangerously beautiful tourist destination. The altitude of Dooars area ranges from 90 m to 1,750 m. and surrounding among 11 blocks of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district, which are the homeland for the people of 138 languages and dialects. Besides the coaches, Bawa, Mech, Rajbongshi, Bodo, Santhal, Munda and Oraon, there have many people of Bengali and other languages.
Innumerable streams and rivers flow through these fertile plains of the Dooars from Bhutan. The major rivers in this region are Teesta, Torsha, Jaldhaka, Murti, Sankosh, Dyna, Karatoya, Raidak, Kaljani and many others known and unknown rivers. Mid-May to September end is the monsoon session at the Dooars when about 350 cm average rainfall is common. Winter is very cold and foggy at morning and night, which is lasting between October and March. But, summer is very pleasant and mild and constitutes a very short time of the year from April to mid-May.
In past Tea and Timber were the main economies of the Dooars area. But now, Tourism is one of the main economies of the Dooars in West Bengal (WB). So, entire Dooars has become one of the hottest tourist destinations in the Eastern Himalayas region. Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Garumara National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve Forest, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Jhalong, Bindu, Lava Sunteykhola are the most desired places to see, which attract visitors attention towards the Dooars from all over India and abroad. Elephant, Rhinoceros, Monkey, Cheetah are common wildlife attraction for tourist in the Dooars.