Siliguri: Joy ride on toy train organised for special children
Nov 14, 2022
Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], November 14 : On the birth anniversary of Independent India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, celebrated as Children's Day, a special toy train ride was organised for the physically challenged children in Siliguri.
The initiative was taken by Unique Foundation, a city-based voluntary organisation.
Around 50 visually impaired and special children on Monday enjoyed 18 km long Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) toy train ride from Siliguri Junction to Rongtong.
Speaking with ANI, Sakti Paul, founder of the organisation said, "We tried to do something different for the physically challenged children on this special day. So we decided to arrange a ride on the Heritage DHR toy train. The journey was beautiful and the children enjoyed it a lot."
Jyoti Toppo, a special child said, "It was my first ride on toy train. It was wonderful and we celebrated the day in a unique way. We are looking for the same next year."
Raju Murmu, another special child said,"We never got a chance to celebrate the children's day in toy train. So it was great for us. We played songs and danced on the running train."
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Toy-train, is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway based on zig zag and loop-line technology which runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Built between 1879 and 1881, with six zig-zags and five loops, the railway is about 88 km (55 mi) long. Its elevation varies from about 100m (328 ft) at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling. On December 2, 1999, UNESCO declared the DHR a World Heritage Site.
