NBS Times Exclusive:Three years on, DHR remains under sorry state

Three years on, DHR remains under sorry state

 UNESCO warns heritage tag removal

Anand Ghatani.

Manas Ranjan Das, a resident of Delhi in his first visit to the Darjeeling hills missed the toy train ride between Siliguri to Darjeeling. Though he could have availed the same ride in between Kurseong to Darjeeling but his fascination to be a passenger in the toy train had culminated after he heard from a friend that the ride between Siliguri and Kurseong is amazing given that one can view the beautiful landscapes, natural beauty and the famous Tindharia workshop which is a world fame asset the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has. Hence for Das it was more important in his first trip to ride between Siliguri and Darjeeling.

Three years on and the resumption of toy train services between the hills and the plains is far from anywhere to begin again. Like Das thousands of tourists visiting the hills would want a ride between Siliguri and Kurseong or for that matter want to travel to the queen of the hills in a toy train. Hit by the crackdown of the National Highway 55 with a series of landslides in the year 2011 the little train that is world famous is in a major set back.

Official sources from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) said a diesel engine train does run everyday from Siliguri to Rongtong, a station few kms away from the outskirts of Siliguri. “The Train runs everyday from Siliguri to Rongtong but without any passengers,” said the source. Asked about the loss it bears to he shot back, “Ofcourse the loss is immense. The diseal is wasted everyday”.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has five stations along National Highway 55 between Kurseong. Starting from Tindharia Station, the Ghayabhari Station and the Mahanadi Station are in a pathetic state. A local resident at Tindharia told NBS times that all the three stations are locked since the past many days and the staffs have been shifted elsewhere. “Where has the staffs been shifted is a bleak at the moment. The stations at Tindharia, Ghayabari and Mahanadi wores a deserted look and we find it locked everyday,” said a local resident at Tindharia.

Tindharia is the much centered station for the DHR as it has the world fame Workshop that manufactures the steam locomotives. Sources said that the locomotive now only has eighty staffs. The workshop now remains in a sorry state as half the portion was washed away by the landslide. Residents of Tindharia who are mostly workers of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) while speaking to NBS times fear that the next monsoon could wash away the remaining portion.

The DHR was accorded the world heritage status in 1999 by the UNESCO. Built in 1879, the DHR track along NH 55 is considered as an engineering marvel with 2 ft narrow gauge that runs 79 kms between New Jalpaiguri Station (NJP) and Darjeeling. The bad news now is that the engineering marvel is set to loose it heritage tag.

Recently UNESCO officials met members of the heritage committee of the railways warning them that if the track is not repaired immediately, it will be forced not only to revoke the heritage tag, but declare the route as dangerous for commuters.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, minister-of-state for Indian Railways, said it may be difficult for the DHM to hold on to the World Heritage Site tag if the whole route is not made operational quickly.

“We understand the gravity of the situation and its negative effects on the tourism in Darjeeling if the World Heritage Site tag is taken away. My minister Pawan Bansal has requested the Union Transport Minister Dr C.P. Joshi to repair the track immediately. The ministry has sanctioned Rs 80 million (Dh5.4 million) for the same. I am confident that the road will now be repaired before monsoon,” he added.

M.Bhutia, the Director of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) was reluctant to speak. “I am in a meeting rite now and cannot talk to you,” he said even after several calls.

“It is naturally a matter of great concern – for the local communities as well as for the tourist economy- that the DHR has now been severed for almost two years. Indian Railways has promised that the line will be fully restored by no later than the end of 2013 and we look forward to that. The DHRS supports the DHR and local community projects in many ways, but the responsibility for the repair and operation of the DHR is entirely with Indian Railways,” Paul Whittle, the Vice Chairman of DHR Society in London wrote in an email to this correspondent.

“The use of the sidings area at Kurseong for parking is a matter for the DHR authorities and the Kurseong Board of Municipality. However, the operation of the DHR must not suffer as a result of this use. The sidings area is part of the DHR World Heritage Site and as such, any permanent change of use must be considered most carefully. The best solution would be for the sidings to be renovated and used as part of expanded DHR services,” he added when asked about the use of tracks as parking slot in Kurseong.