How scenic might be the terrain of Himachal Pradesh through which trains pass, there are still flies to irritate the traveller. The railways have found a way out of the problem. | |
| "We have installed herbal flycatchers at all the railway stations on the 96 km Kalka-Shimla route," said Praveen Kumar, Shimla railway station master. |
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| "Each flycatcher can trap around 70,000 flies. They contain an aromatic herb that attracts the flies and immediately traps them inside the plastic nets," Kumar told Business Standard. |
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| "The cost of each trap is Rs 80 and must be replaced every two months," he said. |
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| "In the past we have been spraying chemicals to kill flies at railways stations but these can lead to environmental hazards. So we switched to these environment-friendly methods," he added. |
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| Officials say the Indian railways in they first phase are installing flycatchers in about 700 railway stations across the country. The over-a-century-old Kalka-Shimla 96 km (60 miles) long narrow gauge track--from Kalka at the edge of the plains to Shimla--is considered an engineering marvel, attracting visitors from the around the world. |
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| It rises from a heaight of 650 metres (2,145 feet) above the sea level to 2,100 metres (almost 7000 feet). |
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| Listed in the "Guinness Railway Book" as "an engineering feat", the track passes through 103 tunnels, 969 bridges, and 18 railway stations. The longest tunnel is over one km. |
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