Miscreants vandalized Dream Theatre, a cinema hall in the town, last night. However, while most of the important wires connected in the projection room were cut apart, other technical equipment and machines were left untouched.

The incident has prompted residents to question the safety and security of small business establishments, especially as the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) plans to organize an industrial meet in the Hills in mid- March.

Owners of the theatre, Mabo Chemjong, and his wife Sushma Chemjong, said the miscreants entered the top floor of the Trimurti Complex where the theatre is located, and broke into the projection room. “Although they did not damage other machines, the wires of important connections like the projector, amplifier, batteries, UPS, processor, laptop/ mobile chargers etc. were chopped off with a wire-cutter,” Mr Chemjong said.

Dream Theatre, which is located at 9th Mile, started operations in 2016 with a view to mainly promoting local Nepali films. There were two cinema halls in the town earlier– Kanchan Cinema Hall and Novelty Hall.

Kanchan has been closed for more than five years now, while Novelty has also been closed for almost a year for renovation. Anmol Gurung, a filmmaker, said that the Dream Theatre has been providing a “wholesome, good level of entertainment, but this act definitely smacks of jealousy.” It is learnt that the theatre was popular among the people and that the prices of a movie ticket started from Rs 100 to Rs 200.

“This theatre incurred losses to have films like Black Panther. English films are expensive to buy from distributors, but Mabo Chemjong does it all to provide entertainment to the people of Kalimpong as people here demand such films.

They want to watch such movies here rather than go to Siliguri,” Mr Gurung said. Lamenting the act, Sushma Chemjong said people who are doing this are actually destroying their own property. “People don’t want security checks before the film, yet some carry cigarette lighters, chewing gum and even alcohol, which we don’t allow.

Some pick up fights with our staff because of this, but sadly, they abide by the rules when they go to watch films in other places like Siliguri,” she said. “We were happily settled outside, but we came back to our place with a thought of contributing to our society. We spent lakhs of rupees to provide entertainment to our people, but what did we get?” Mr Chemjong said. The Chemjong couple has filed an FIR at the police station in the town.