Vivek Ghatani
The toy train and National Highway 55 have become prodigious synonyms in the hills. The landslides are the spot spoiler therefore giving fresh headaches to the authorities of the small train. Not anymore for the highway authorities because as long as the highway is not repaired and maintained, all troubles is the small train headache.
The fresh landslides affected direct train services for DHR is a testimony of how poor developed are the hills. But people in politics are not really worried for it as the more time they take to repair, the longer is their political extension. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) can escape here because you have no authority to repair the road that has been non-functional since years.
How on earth residents along National Highway 55 are spending life has no impact on the leaders of recent times in the hills. Ofcourse for them there are always more options. The Rohini Road has served best options for Kurseong and Darjeeling to reach Siliguri. Simultaneously a resident in Tindharia has to pay Rs 40 per head per ride when they have to reach Siliguri or Kurseong. That alone means a fare of Rs 80 (up and down) abruptly raising the expense.
The DHR has bored the brunt of major landslides like the residents along Mahanadi, Ghayabari and Tindharia. The small train, infamous all over the world for its manoeuvring engineering works, has been on the low side when it comes to allocation of budget for its maintenance from the centre. The earning for the DHR reportedly has dipped down drastically thus making it difficult to sustain.
The restoration of Highway could have well supported the sustainability for both DHR and residents. Time has come for the Mamata Banerjee to deliver her Switzerland promise for the hills although Calcutta never turned into London as she ascertained.
Politics can stay aside in the hills for some 10 years now because the past three decades of politics for Gorkhaland has hindered development in a greater scale. The loss for no development or rather maintenance of what it has can invariably felt by the common man
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