This is definitely a moment to relish and cherish. There is a twist to worry about though. The heritage line has been closed due to unsafe conditions post 2019 monsoon, after the tracks were washed away at 21 locations
The Matheran line has a gauge of only two feet
The 21-km stretch of the Matheran Light Railway, which has been on the UNESCO tentative list since 2014, has been nominated for this year’s UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize, a report stated in this paper. Central Railway officials are justifiably elated and said they would make every attempt to revive the line post this monsoon.
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The prestigious award was established in 1995 and is given to outstanding examples of actions to safeguard and enhance the world’s cultural landscapes, a category of World Heritage, the report stated. This is definitely a moment to relish and cherish. There is a twist to worry about though. The heritage line has been closed due to unsafe conditions post 2019 monsoon, after the tracks were washed away at 21 locations.
Railway officials can stand back and smile or allow themselves a pat on the back as this is their moment. We have to see that the line is restored and running. It would work if there was a deadline to repair or replace, whatever is the need of the hour, the tracks.
There should also be an effective, result-oriented investigation about how the tracks got washed away in the rain, and if we can come up with better tracks using technology to avoid this in the future. The monsoon will of course be there every year, and as the global scenario has shown us, we have to be prepared for the unpredictable when it comes to the weather. We may have an extended monsoon, a rainy season in months where we have not seen rain earlier. Global patterns are indicating that the world has been upended when it comes to climate. We need superior technology to factor all this in. Our cultural jewel cannot be moribund. The piece of heritage must be up and running.
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