The Balharshah and Chandrapur railway stations in Maharashtra have just topped a national in-house station beautification contest. As per a Central Railway official, both the stations were recently beautified with paintings, murals and sculptures, depicting the local tribal art and the wildlife at Tadoba National Park.
“Chandrapur and Ballarshah stations (in Chandrapur district) of Central Railway were adjudged first among 62 entries from 11 Zones of the Indian Railways and were awarded the first prize jointly for the most beautiful stations of the Indian railways,” Central Railway Chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi said. Both the stations were awarded prize money of Rs 10 lakh each.
Additionally, the Madhubani station (East Central Railway) in Bihar, which was recently given a makeover by Mithila artists, and the Madurai station (Southern Railway) in Tamil Nadu together secured the second position in the contest, winning Rs 5 lakh each. The third prize went to three stations — Gandhidham in Gujarat under Western Railway, Kota in Rajasthan under West Central Railway, Secunderabad in Telangana under South Central Railway. All three stations took home a cash award of Rs 3 lakh.
The winners were determined by a committee of Executive Directors (EDs) of Station Development, Passenger Marketing, Tourism and other departments.
As per Central Railway General Manager DK Sharma, the beautification of the stations would help bring a smile to the faces of worn-out passengers and give them some relief from their long-distance journeys. Sharma said, “One is tempted to go closer to the drawings and sculptures, observe and take a selfie. Besides, this will help to boost tourism and generate employment in the region.”
(With Agency Inputs)
