The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway will organise the fourth edition of the Ghum Winter Festival from November 28 to December 7.

The festival will not only promote the DHR but also mark the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi’s walk from Darjeeling.

“We will celebrate the fourth edition of the DHR’s Ghum Winter Festival from November 28 to December 7,” DHR director Rishav Choudhary said on Thursday.

As part of the preparation for the upcoming event at Ghoom, railway officials held a meeting with representatives of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and stakeholders of the tourism industry at Elysia Building, the headquarters of the DHR in Kurseong, on Thursday.

“We will also mark two other major events, as this is the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi’s walk from Darjeeling to Siliguri through Hill Cart Road (NH110) in 1925. As a part of the celebration, we will begin our campaign on making the Darjeeling hills green and clean from October 2,” Choudhary said.

“The 200 years of world railways will also be celebrated at DHR stations by organising various cultural programmes by involving local stakeholders,” the director added.

The century-old mountain railway is a UNESCO World Heritage site, drawing thousands of tourists.

The stakeholders of the tourism industry have suggested that the railways should make the winter festival more tourist-oriented.

“The iconic toy train service of the DHR plays a major role in the promotion of tourism in the Darjeeling hills. The authorities should make the festival more tourist-oriented so that the event could become like some of the iconic festivals of the country, like Hornbill Festival or Ziro Music Festival of the Northeast, so that tourists can prepare their itinerary early,” Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, said.