BJP MP Raju Bista has demanded that a separate division being created for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
While
speaking on the motion in support of the railway budget in the Lok
Sabha on Thursday evening, the Darjeeling MP said the narrow gauge DHR,
which is declared as a world heritage property by the Unesco, had to be
managed differently.
“It (DHR) is of a different technology, the
driver is different, maintenance is different and a different set of
skills is needed and does not fit with broad gauge. If a different
division for the DHR is created, it will help in its uplift,” Bista
said.
The DHR is under the Northeast Frontier Railway.
In 1878, Franklin Prestage, an agent of the Eastern Bengal
Railway, foresaw the utility of a rail link between the hills of
Darjeeling and the plains.
His scheme was mainly driven by hard
economic considerations viz, the huge difference in the cost of
essential commodities between Darjeeling and Siliguri, the need to carry
out tea for export and the inability of the existing road to handle the
growing traffic.
He submitted a scheme for the construction of a 2ft gauge railway line from Siliguri to Darjeeling.
According
to the DHR’s official website, Prestage in a detailed scheme submitted
to the government of Bengal and approved by Lt Governor Sir Ashley Eden,
pointed out how a railway could substantially reduce the cost of
transport between Darjeeling and the plains and cited how a ton of rice
in Darjeeling would cost almost thrice the price in Siliguri.
The DHR was finally opened in 1881 and the world heritage status was conferred in 1999.
The
Darjeeling MP also stressed the need to fill up vacancies in the DHR,
provide permanent jobs to 14 apprentices currently working with the hill
railway and the need to upgrade the Tindharia workshop. “The railway
minister has given permission to set up a museum at the closed printing
press,” said Bista.
Bista also alleged that “TMC cadres and those
running the GTA were fighting among themselves for rail contract” on the
ongoing Sikkim rail project.
https://www.telegraphindia.com
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?