Central Railway celebrates Matheran Rail Utsav

Central Railway takes another positive step towards conservation of environment and protecting the ecology of Matheran.

Central Railway is celebrated the Matheran Rail Utsav – a 2 day Cultural Festival in association with Matheran Municipal Council on 13 and 14 November 2021.

This Utsav which was a first of its kind programme saw display of Matheran Light Railway’s ancient history, potraying  the green initiatives of Central Railway and evolution of Matheran into an eco-sensitive zone. It also projected Matheran Light Railway(MLR) as a cultural landscape as also being recommended for UNESCO Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize-2021 for Safeguard and Management of Cultural Landscapes.

B K Dadabhoy, Additional General Manager, Central Railway was the Chief Guest at the inaugural function held at Matheran Station on 13 November the first day of the 2 day festival. A K Gupta, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai Division and other Senior Officers of Central Railway were also present.

Dadabhoy released balloons with the Festival Citation and also inaugurated a stall. He also gave away awards to winners of Photography and Drawing competition.

The Additional General Manager, The Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, The Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai Division and other Senior Officers also planted saplings as a part of tree plantation drive organised at the event..

The event featured presentations and talks on various Green initiatives by Central Railway, various initiatives taken for conservation of Matheran by Matheran Municipal Council, Initiatives in protecting the landscape and environment by Saguna Farms and Waste to Energy Management by M/s Polycrack.

Adivasi Folk Dance by Hasechi Patti Group and a cultural programme by artistes of Divisional Cultural Academy, Mumbai Division were also presented at the Festival.

Central Railway has taken various steps towards conservation of Environment. In the last four years Central Railway has taken up plantation of more than 18 lakh saplings of various kinds of trees on Railway land. An herbal garden with 120 saplings of rare spices and herbs has been set up at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai. 15 nurseries have already been set up and developed on Central Railway. 87 Eco-smart stations, Automatic Coach Washing plant at Wadi Bunder, Mumbai, Rain Water Harvesting Units at 133 stations, IGBC Green certification of 5 buildings etc are some of the other initiatives & achievements  towards greener environment  in past few years by Central Railway.

The Matheran Utsav is yet another positive step by Central Railway towards conserving the environment and protecting the ecology of Matheran.

Central Railway with its shuttle services for passengers between Aman Lodge and Matheran has been instrumental in popularizing this place not only as a major tourist destination but also as a place which takes one close to Nature.

Railways are playing an important role in providing a safe and comfortable travel to its passengers coming to this tourist destination, thereby providing livelihood to the locals thus contributing in improving the economy of Matheran