Darjeeling, September 12 (Siliguri Chronicle) – The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) will host the fourth edition of the Ghum Winter Festival from November 28 to December 7.
This year’s festival aims to showcase the heritage railway while also commemorating 100 years since Mahatma Gandhi’s historic walk from Darjeeling.
“We will celebrate the fourth edition of the DHR’s Ghum Winter Festival from November 28 to December 7,” DHR director Rishav Choudhary said on Thursday.
As part of the preparations for the upcoming Ghum Winter Festival, railway officials met representatives of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and tourism stakeholders on Thursday at Elysia Building, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway headquarters in Kurseong.
“We will also mark two other major events, as this is the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi’s walk from Darjeeling to Siliguri through Hill Cart Road (NH110) in 1925. As a part of the celebration, we will begin our campaign on making the Darjeeling hills green and clean from October 2,” Choudhary said.
“The 200 years of world railways will also be celebrated at DHR stations by organising various cultural programmes by involving local stakeholders,” the director added.
The century-old mountain railway, a UNESCO World Heritage site, attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Tourism stakeholders have urged the railways to design the winter festival with a stronger focus on tourists.
“The iconic toy train service of the DHR plays a major role in the promotion of tourism in the Darjeeling hills. The authorities should make the festival more tourist-oriented so that the event could become like some of the iconic festivals of the country, like Hornbill Festival or Ziro Music Festival of the Northeast, so that tourists can prepare their itinerary early,” Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, said.
