| Construction of Darjeeling Hill Road - 1865 Part - 2 Photograph from the album of views depicting the Construction of the Darjeeling Hill Road taken by an unknown photographer in 1865. Darjeeling was part of the territory of the Rajas of Sikkim till the 18th century and was given to the British in 1835. The British built a sanatorium here and it soon became the summer headquarters of the Bengal government. The road connecting Darjeeling with Siliguri on the plains was initiated in 1861 largely as a result of the sudden expansion of tea plantations in the mountains. Constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department, it was 48 miles long, 25 feet wide and cost around 6,000 per mile to build. It was a popular tourist route owing to the spectacular scenery it passed through, but was later superseded by the railway.  This view 2 miles above Kurseong with the temporary bridge shows the damage on June 13th 1869 as part of the road was washed away by flooding. |
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