Shanti Puja at Tiffin Dara to pray away accident-prone notoriety

ANAND OBEROI

In a move to pray for the souls of lives lost to accidents and to propitiate the Gods to keep the stretch safe, more than 360 residents living around the accident-prone “Tiffin Dara” stretch between Damthang and Namchi, organised a two-day Shanti Puja there on 14 and 15 May.
The prayer service was mooted by Lali-Guras Club, a Ghurpisey-based NGO, and supported, as mentioned, by residents of the area. The prayers started on 14 May and concluded the next evening. Eight Buddhist monks from Aley Gumpa conducted prayers and erected ‘dhajas’, prayer flags and lit ‘chimis’, butter lamps, while Hindu pundits performed a ‘hawan’ and led Bhagwad Gita recitals.
Five people have died in accidents near Tiffin Dara in the past one month alone. Fatalities to accidents here in the past year stand at 15.

Disturbed by this notoriety, and with many residents convinced that the stretch was under the spell of evil auras, the residents came together over the weekend to hold prayers there.
“It is unfortunate that so many deaths took place here and we decided to organise the prayers to propitiate the deities and Gods to watch over people who travel along this stretch. This place is getting a bad reputation because of the accidents. We also plan to request the concerned authorities to install safety measures like strong parapets here for the safety of road users,” informs Laxmi Prasad Chettri, president of the Lali-Guras Club.
The treasurer, Govind Prasad Sharma, further informed that the organisers received no funding from anywhere and that the prayers were organised completely by the local residents.
People from as far as Jaubari, Tingri and Namchi also attended the prayer service. The Namchi local taxi drivers and locals from all walks of life supported the cause as well.
“We just want the deceased to have a safe passage to heaven and are expressing solidarity with the bereaved families. We also appeal to drivers to learn from the accidents and b evn more careful when negotiating hill roads,” added Tendal Ongyal, general secretary.