Darjeeling to host tea fest from Thursday
The scenic town of Darjeeling is all set to host the much-anticipated second edition of the 'Darjeeling Melo Tea Fest' 2024, a vibrant celebration of tea, music, and culture.
Falling boulders and landslips triggered by incessant rainfall in the Hills led to the Toy Train tracks being blocked at the 14 Mile area at Ghayabari in the Kurseong sub-division in Darjeeling on Wednesday.
The Director of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), MK Narzary, said the tracks were affected due to the boulders and landslips.
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“Toy Train services have been halted following the disturbances on the tracks near Paglajhora. The tracks have been damaged, and repairing work will begin as soon as the landslips stop,” he said.
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The NFR, meanwhile, said the boulders that fell on the tracks were of ‘big size,’ and that (Toy) train number 52541 was short-terminated at Tindharia and cancelled between Tindharia and Darjeeling on Wednesday.
“Train number 52540 was also short terminated at Kurseong and cancelled between Kurseong and New Jalpaiguri on Wednesday,” it said in a statement.
Sources in Kurseong said that the mud-slips and boulders that started falling on the tracks at 11 am continued until late in the evening.
“Several officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) visited the site and took stock of the situation there,” the sources said.
According to local people, the landslips and boulders are common during the rainy season this time of the year, affecting Toy Train services and vehicular movement on National Highway-55 that runs almost parallel with the train tracks.
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