The Sawai Madhopur railway station in eastern Rajasthan, which has pioneered in the depiction of the region’s rich wildlife through colourful wall paintings, has bagged the prestigious national tourism award of the Union Tourism Ministry for 2014-15.
Considered to be the gateway to the world-famous Ranthambhore National Park, the railway station has now become a virtual living art museum of wildlife, showcasing the flora and fauna, including the famed tigers of the wildlife reserve. This, evidently, is a pleasant surprise to travellers who are used to seeing dull and pan-stained walls at other railway stations.
West-Central Railway General Manager Ramesh Chandra received the award at a ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma gave away the prize, designated as the “best tourist-friendly railway station award”. The artwork from the Ranthambhore School of Art was led by two master painters Gajanand Singh and Narayan Singh, who decorated about 7,000-square-foot area of the railway station with the paintings of forests, banyan trees, tigers, leopards, bears, darters and tree-pies.
Divisional Railway Manager Seema Kumar said that in addition to beautification, world-class facilities of quality drinking water, passenger-friendly platforms, high-quality retiring rooms and bio-toilets had been added to the railway station. The station was earlier awarded as the first heritage railway station.
