DHR marks February as 'heritage month'

Amitava Banerjee | MP | Darjeeling: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has marked February as its heritage month. Special rides, visit to the Tindharia Railway Workshop and illumination

of major stations will be part of the heritage month commemorations.

A team from the London Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society, along with a group of more than 30 foreign tourists are on a three-day DHR trip to the Darjeeling Hills. Following a chartered train trip to Rongtong on Sunday, the group visited the Railway Workshop on Monday from Siliguri. On Tuesday, they will be undertaking the trip to Darjeeling from Siliguri.

At the end of the trip, the group will be giving their honest opinion, including the grey areas and the scope for betterment. DHR authorities will be taking the suggestions into consideration, while formulating new policies.

The group consists of tourists from England, Switzerland, Canada and Australia. The group met the workers at the Tindharia Railway Workshop and visited the museum at the workshop as well.

"I was here in 2009. However, as I am a rail enthusiast, especially the DHR and as I love Darjeeling, I decided to return," stated Michael Chapman, a tourist.

Meanwhile, UNESCO representatives will be meeting stakeholders and railway officials in the coming week to finalise the conservation plan for DHR.

Work had first started on the DHR, then called the Darjeeling Steam Tramways, in 1879. It was inscribed as a world heritage site on December 2, 1999.