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Maligaon, December 5 (MExN): The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) which was declared as World Heritage site by UNESCO on December 5, 1999 celebrated 20 years of its declaration today.
As part of the programme, a ceremonial special train was flagged off from Darjeeling to Ghum, a press release from Subhanan Chanda, Chief Public Relations Officer said.
A run was also held from Ghum to Darjeeling to create awareness on the importance of DHR, where general public and school children participated. An art exhibition related to DHR by local artiste and cultural programme was held on the occasion at Darjeeling Chowrasta.
A Coffee Table book on DHR was also released on the occasion. Member Rolling Stock Railway Board, Rajesh Agrawal, general manager, NFR; Sanjive Roy, DRM, Katihar; RK Verma, Secretary GTA; David Pradhan, Director Cultural Affairs of GTA and BK Ghishing along with other senior railway officials attended the event. The guests also visited the DHR museum at Ghum.
Earlier, a monumental National Flag was hoisted at Darjeeling station in the presence of all.
The release stated that at present, there are thirteen stations in DHR starting from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. NFR has introduced Vista dome coaches in DHR through which tourists can have a better scenic view of Himalayan terrain during the journey.
The construction of the 2 feet (610 mm) wide gauge DHR started in 1879. It reached Tindharia in March, 1880 and upto Ghum in April, 1881. The first train reached Darjeeling on July 4, 1881.
The UNESCO inscription on DHR reads: “The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the first and still the most outstanding example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, it applied bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. It is still fully operational and retains most of its original features intact.”
NFR hoped that the 20 years celebration of “World Heritage” declaration will help to further promote the DHR in both national and international platforms from tourism point of view.
