GUWAHATI, Feb 23 — A 1967 batch Telco-made steam locomotive came alive on Saturday chugging along the 64-kilometre-long metre gauge route from Lower Haflong to Maibong set in the picturesque surroundings of North Cachar Hills, as the NF Railway ventured into promotion of tourism along its 100-year-old Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section.
As the vintage locomotive steamed in and out of numerous tunnels along the route dotted by a large number of bridges standing since British days, it relived the memory of old-age train safari for many of the small group of tourists converging from different parts of the country, who were taken on a special journey organised by the NF Railway to commemorate 100 years of its operation along the Lumding-Badarpur Hills Section. The section is a glaring example of the determination and grit of then Assam Bengal Railway engineers in constructing the railhead over 100 years back. The 183-kilometre-long Lumding-Badarpur Hills Section that passes through the raw beauty of thickly forested NC Hills an connects Brahmaputra and Barak valleys is considered an engineering marvel till today. It is dotted with 73 major and 513 minor bridges and 37 tunnels. The entire section was opened for traffic on February 1904.
“Although this section of the Railways is unique from engineering point of view and traverses through the scenic locations of lush green NC Hills and Borail range, it is yet to be put on the tourist map of the country,” says Sri Vipan Nanda, General Manager of the NF Railway. He said this section was different in many aspects from New Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling Hill Section, particularly in the sense that the nature was at its best along the Lumding-Badarpur Section.
Spurred by the interests shown by travellers from abroad, particularly those from the UK and from rest of the country to see steam locomotives in operation along this marvellous hills section, the NF Railway has worked out a packaged, “Jatinga Steam Safari” to exploit the tourism potential of the section. (Details of the safari can be gathered through e-mail either at ucj_88@yahoo.com or at rajesh_agrawal @vsnl.com.). The NF Railway General Manager admits that promotion of tourism along the section will remain a far cry sans the coordination from State government agencies and private sector. Despite the law-and-order problem and tribal unrest in this backward hill areas, accommodation for tourists would be the greatest problem in absence of facilities.
One of the Executive Members of the NC Hills Autonomous Council, Nindu Langthasa was optimistic in telling this correspondent that the atmosphere of apprehension would go away once tourists started frequenting the place. He claimed the situation in the hill station was now much better with the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD) opting for a peaceful solution through negotiation with the Government of India.
Lauding the NF Railway’s effort to launch ‘Jatinga Steam Safari’, the Executive Member pointed out that promotion of tourism would be a boon to educated unemployed youths of the NC Hills as it would provide them more income avenues. The ground realities suggest that it will be a Herculian task to make the safari a success for the NF Railway for which profitability has remained a dream as far as passenger trains are concerned along the 100-year-old hill section, although it has been the lifeline for southern Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram vis-a-vis goods transshipment.