State slams DHR hike

TT, Siliguri, Feb.7: Tourism minister Gautam Deb today criticised the decision to increase the fare of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's toy train services and said he would request the chief minister to take up the matter with the Centre.

"The DHR is a Unesco heritage property and a major attraction for tourists who visit the Darjeeling hills. A large number of tourists who wish to take toy train rides will lose interest because of the railway's decision," Deb said here this afternoon.

The minister said the chief minister would visit the hills next week. "She is well aware of the toy train service' importance and that it is a key attraction of north Bengal. During her visit, I will request her to take up the matter with the railway minister. From the point of view of tourism, the state has a stake in this case."

The DHR had scrapped second class coaches of toy trains plying betweenDarjeeling and New Jalpaiguri and increased the first class fare.