GUWAHATI, Oct 16 ? Following a directive from the Railway Board, the NF Railway (NFR) is planning to create an archive containing some of its most valuable documents. Tentative steps have already been taken in this regard with an initial survey being carried out of the photographs in possession of the railway authorities.
Speaking to this correspondent, the chief photographer of NFR, Kushal Kumar Rabha, said that his organisation was in possession of quite a few rare photographs, which should be preserved. Among the photographs are those, that document the launch and completion of significant events like laying of the foundation-stone of the Saraighat bridge. Several other photographs also throw light on other occasions of national importance.
?The archive would contain not just photos, but would include station documents, and railway receipts, among others,? said Trikalagya Rabha, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NFR. ?The importance of the documents has at first to be assessed. It won?t be an easy task considering the huge collection at our disposal.?
He further revealed that the documents once archived bear the potential to reveal many unknown and ignored facts about not just the railways, but also about major aspects of the region?s transportation and economic activities.
?The railway receipts for example would be able to reveal what kind of commodities have been carried by the NFR during different times. Some documents describe posts of the railways like gharami, bhisti, lorry sarkar, which are no longer in existence; that way they also establish the changing human face of the NFR.
Being a technical department, the archives would quite definitely help delineate the continuing change in rail hardware, and would give a picture of how technical developments have helped the NFR in acquiring its modern shape. It is expected that even the photograph of old steam engines would recreate the aura of train travel of the bygone days, the CPRO maintained.
He disclosed that the NFR was also considering digital storage of important documents. Acknowledging the fact that the NFR is yet to have a very comprehensive and updated website, he added that a digital database could enable easy access of information by all concerned.
Mentioning that possible tie-ups with resource persons could be considered to sustain the effort, the CPRO added that the railways were also interested in acquiring other objects of historical value associated with it. He appealed to the people to contact the railway authorities if they possessed any objects or documents, which could be of value for rail enthusiasts, researchers, and historians.
Unfortunately, however, the NFR has till now not thought about establishing a proper museum to house its historical objects. ?We have a shortage of space, so right now we are concentrating on documents. That might be a possibility later on,? the CPRO said. The acquired objects, if they were of significant worth, would find their deserved place in the National Rail Museum New Delhi, he added.