The railway station at Ghoom, which is a part of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) that is a world heritage site listed by Unesco, currently resembles an area for roadside food stalls.

DHR authorities started a month-long Summer Festival from March 1 at the scenic Ghoom station, which is situated at an altitude of 7,407 feet above mean sea level.

However, instead of showcasing the rich heritage of the hill railway system set up way back in 1881, the festival has nothing to offer but commonplace street food found in every second bend of Darjeeling. Housie, a game with number tickets, is also being played against cash sums.

“Look at the stalls that have come up at the station. Even village melas (fairs) have better aesthetic sense. And this is a Unesco-recognised world heritage station,” said an official of the tourism department of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

The stalls that catch one’s eye on entering the Ghoom station are Raja Chat House selling phuchka and other savories, and an unnamed stall that has stringed up potato chips for display and also sells momos and noodles.

In the evenings, many people play Housie to win the cash sum. Some local residents had forwarded video clips of Housie being played at the station to this correspondent.

However, when asked, a senior DHR official said: “It is not illegal.”

People who have set up stalls said that they each are paying Rs 7,500 to the DHR to put up their stalls for a month. The Summer Festival will end on March 31.

“There are around 15 stalls and I am paying Rs 7,500 to put up mine. However, business is not too great,” said a stall owner.

Apart from the food stalls, there is not much in the summer festival to offer tourists taking the DHR’s Darjeeling-Ghoom-Darjeeling joy ride.

A one-and-a-half-hour joyride on a vista dome pulled by a steam engine costs Rs 1,600 per passenger.

A tourist who took a ride on Thursday said that he did not even notice that a “festival” was on.

“I thought those were normal food stalls that are there in railway stations. Is that a festival?” asked the international tourist.

Asked about the tepid state of affairs in the summer festival, a senior DHR official said that they could not organise any cultural shows and other events this time because of the school leaving board examinations.

“Yes, this time the festival has been arranged on a lower scale. We will try to make it better next time,” said the official.

Many local residents wondered aloud what the purpose was behind holding such a “lacklustre summer festival”.

Last year between November 15 to December 5, the DHR had also organised a Ghoom Festival with the tagline “Zara Sa Ghoom Le Tu” and even though the stalls were unimpressive, the organisers had organised a “trekathon”, folk dances and other cultural shows.