Adverse weather forces postponement of DHR's Shatabdi march to mark Gandhi's visit centenary

Darjeeling (WB), Oct 5 (PTI) A month-long commemorative initiative - 'Shatabdi march' - organised by the heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), scheduled to begin on Sunday to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's visit to the Queen of the Hills in 1925, was postponed in view of very heavy rain, a senior official said.

The march was scheduled to commence on Sunday at Darjeeling railway station and culminate at Siliguri Town station in the plains on November 9, he said.

"The DHR regrets to inform that, in view of severe weather conditions in and around Darjeeling, the commemorative event has been postponed until further notice," the official said in a statement.

It said that the DHR, in consultation with the local authorities and partner organisations, will monitor the situation closely and announce revised dates for the event once conditions are conducive.

Spread over five weekends, the Shatabdi march will retrace the route of Gandhi's journey along the DHR, symbolically connecting the stations and communities that witnessed his presence a century ago, the DHR official said.

In June 1925, Gandhi travelled to Darjeeling to meet the ailing Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, a leader, lawyer and founder of the Swaraj Party, he said.

Gandhi stayed with Das from June 4 to 9 at 'Step Aside', a villa in Darjeeling where the latter breathed his last a few days later, and engaged in vital discussions on the future of the freedom struggle against the British Raj, he added. PTI AMR RG