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Uttarakhand Tourism plans to reward you for working from its mountains

Uttarakhand Tourism’s new initiative will surely bring cheer to all those working from home. All those tired of working from home can now get an attractive option of changing their boring setup. Uttarakhand Tourism is promoting a unique concept of ‘workcation’ that will allow you to work from its picturesque locations, with lush green mountains as the backdrop. What is more interesting about this package is that you will be rewarded to work from there. Uttarakhand Tourism will be launching a Tourist Incentive Coupon scheme for those choosing to go on a workcation in Uttarakhand. As per the scheme, all those booking their stay for a minimum of three days, will be provided with discount of up to INR 3000. Since all you need to work from a remote location is a good internet connection, Uttarakhand Tourism is also offering a range of well-sanitised resorts, hotels, and homestays, enhanced with all required facilities, such as comfortable stay, power back-up, medical facilities, room service, healthy food, and much more for all those bored and wanting to visit Uttarakhand for a change of scenery. Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Dilip Jawalkar said that as workcation has become a trending concept, with people working from home during this time of crisis, the said concept has become a much-needed escape and a great opportunity to take your work on a holiday break. Acting on similar lines, the Uttarakhand Tourism is offering this to to visitors in various resorts, hotels, and homestays in locations, such as Lansdowne, Jim Corbett, Kausani, Mussoorie, Nainital, Dehradun, and Almora, among others. Further, a number of resorts, hotels, and homestays in Uttarakhand are also offering attractive and budget-friendly workcation packages to visitors, which can be tailor-made. What about safety protocols? Visitors will be required to ensure that they follow all the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. Further, those who want to visit the state can register themselves on the smart city portal and enter without any COVID-19-negative report.

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Nepal to waive off quarantine, Covid-19 insurance rules for tourists

The Nepal government has decided to waive off quarantine and Covid-19 insurance rules for tourists starting from October 17 onwards, sources said on Friday. On Thursday evening, a meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the Prime Minister's residence approved a proposal presented by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation which will allow foreign tourists, who test negative for Covid-19 72 hours before their departure, to enter the country without having to quarantine at a hotel for seven days, The Himalayan Times quoted the sources as saying. However, the tourists will have to take an antigen test or an instant PCR test immediately upon arriving at the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the Ministry proposal. The government has also planed to waive off the Covid-19 insurance of $5,000 for the tourists but the travellers must assure that their medical costs would be covered by themselves or the handling agencies, if they contract the virus during their visit, the sources added. Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai told The Himalayan Times that said that his Ministry would announce the protocols after consulting with the Covid-19 crisis management center in a day or two. "We are ready to facilitate tourism activities addressing stakeholders' concerns," he added. The development came a day after Nepal reported the highest surge in the number of single-day coronavirus cases. Among the new cases, 2,540 have been reported from within Kathmandu Valley alone, The Health Ministry said. Twelve new fatalities were reported on Thursday, taking the overall death toll to 590.

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Vaishno Devi: Vande Bharat train service between Delhi-Katra to resume soon; daily visitor limit raised to 7000

Good news for all those who have been planning a Vaishno Devi Yatra. As per the news reports, Indian Railways will soon be resuming its Vande Bharat Express train services from Delhi to Katra. Referring to this, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the matter of resuming the said train services from Delhi to Katra in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Navratri festival has already been discussed with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. He added that resuming the said train services will benefit pilgrims, who have been planning to visit the shrine during Navratri from across the country. Reportedly, Delhi-Katra train services remained suspended since March, after lockdowns were imposed across the country to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. The lockdown is now lifting in a phased manner; recently, IRCTC announced the first ‘private’ Tejas Express train services to resume operations from this month. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express and Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express will be resuming services from October 17, 2020. Moreover, Indian Railways is also set to introduce 39 special trains to facilitate travel of people during the festive season. Apart from the train services resuming operation on the Delhi-Katra route, the cap on the daily number of pilgrims visiting the shrine has also been increased. Reportedly, in view of Navratri starting from November 17, the administration has raised the cap on the number of pilgrims to the shrine up to 7000 from October 15. Also, the task of fixing the ceiling for pilgrims from outside J&K has been entrusted to the CEO of the Shrine Board. The online registration for the yatra will, however, continue to remain the same as before. Further, the CEO, after reviewing the situation, will take a decision on whether to start the palanquin and pony services. Large religious gatherings and processions will not be permitted yet.

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IRCTC announces 39 special trains for the festive season in India

Owing to the upcoming festive season in India, the Indian Railways has announced more special trains across the country. According to latest reports, a total of 39 special trains will be started by the Indian Railways soon. The trains will commence at the earliest possible date. It is believed that most of these special trains will be air-conditioned ones, such as the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto. Apart from the 39 special trains, there have been more developments in the railway sector. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited, which is also known as IRCTC, has announced that Tejas Express will resume its operations soon. The train was suspended due to the outbreak of the pandemic, but will restart from October 17. This is mainly to meet the demand of passengers during the festive season. IRCTC, which is a PSU of the Ministry of Railways has gone through extensive training in order to help adapt to the times, so that operations can be run smoothly without any hiccups. Standard Operation Procedure has been put in place in order to ensure the safety of passengers during their journeys. Here is a list of the 39 special trains that are expected to run during the festive season - Kamakhya to Loymanya Tilak - Weekly Kamakhya to Yesvantpur - Weekly Nizamuddin to Pune - Weekly New Delhi to Katra - Daily Barmer to Yesvantpur - Weekly Loymanya Tilak Terminus to Haridwar - Bi-weekly Loymanya Tilak Terminus to Lucknow - Weekly Ajni to Pune - Weekly Ligampalli to Kakinada town - Tri-weekly Secundrabad to Vizag - Weekly Nagpur to Amritsar -Weekly Anand Vihar to Naharlagun - Weekly Secunderabad to Shalimar - Weekly Chennai to Madurai - Tri-weekly Bandra Terminus to Bhuj - Tri-weekly Santragachi to Chennai - Bi-weekly Howrah to Yesvantpur - Weekly Bhubaneswar to Anand Vihar - Weekly Bhubaneswar to Delhi - Weekly Nizamuddin to Pune - Bi-weekly Howrah to Pune - Bi-weekly train Bengaluru to Chennai - All days, except Tuesday Mumbai Central to Ahmedabad - All days, except Sunday Chennai to Coimbatore - All days, except Tuesday New Delhi to Habibganj - Daily Chennai to Nizamuddin - Bi-weekly Dibrugarh to New Delhi - Weekly Visakhapatnam to Tirupati - Tri-weekly Dibrugarh to New Delhi - Bi-weekly Mumbai Central to Nizamuddin - Daily Bandra to Nizamuddin - Weekly Howrah to Ranchi - All days, except Sunday New Delhi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - All days, except Tuesday Jaipur to Delhi Sarai Rohilla - Daily New Delhi to Amritsar - Daily New Delhi to Dehradun - Daily New Delhi to Amritsar - All days, except Thursday Ahmedabad to Mumbai Central - All days, except Sunday Chennai to Bengaluru - Daily

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International flights: Travel bubbles likely to continue till March-April, says Hardeep Singh Puri

Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said the future of international flights is now depending on the availability of a vaccine. Answering a question on whether travel bubble arrangements will continue till March-April, the minister said, “It is difficult to say as there is no country which has completely opened its borders for all. It depends on the availability of a vaccine as countries will feel more confident once a vaccine is there.” Air bubbles are specific arrangements between countries to allow airlines of both the countries to carry passengers. Regular international passenger flight services have been suspended till October 31. The minister hinted that this suspension is likely to be in place till March-April. “There are basically three issues to consider before resuming regular international flights. One, resuming domestic connectivity connecting bigger cities to smaller town, which we have already done. Second, the nature of the virus on which I can’t comment and the third is international restrictions. Every country wants their people to return, but for others there are plenty of restrictions,” Puri said. Domestic airlines will soon be allowed to increase their capacity to 75 per cent. At present, they are operating at 65 per cent capacity, after domestic flights resumed operations on May 25 — following a gap of two months of lockdown. “There is no deadline. But this can happen soon as the domestic numbers are going up. Before this I said that the pre-covid domestic number will be achieved between Diwali and New Year. Now I am confident that by the first quarter next year, we will be able to surpass the pre-covid number,” the civil aviation minister said. “This marks the beginning of the second phase of domestic travel as we are now gearing up to face the challenge of welcoming more people in the airports as the festive season is almost upon us. We had a meeting with the airlines recently in this regard,” Pradeep Singh Kharola, civil aviation secretary said.

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Nearly all of India will welcome tourists from October

If you have been down with cabin fever, here’s some relief. Most Indian states are emerging through the haze of lockdowns and unlocks and now welcoming tourists. Hotels and homestays are back in business, with strict health protocols. E-passes are nearly gone. Flights to major destinations in India are back and most tourist attractions are reopening. Here’s a quick round-up in case you are finally ready to venture beyond your pincode. Ready and waiting Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka have already started taking tourists with very minimal restrictions, if at all. Uttarakhand is even willing to pay for a room-night if you come visiting. Rajasthan hotels have been open for a few months now. Madhya Pradesh has rolled out workation programmes, in case your boss feels you are indispensable. Next door, nearly all tourist attractions in Agra, Uttar Pradesh are now fully open—including the Taj Mahal. Maharashtra is unlocking cautiously: hotels and homestays are back in business and the state has also launched a campervan rental programme. The state’s premier tiger reserve in Tadoba reopens on 1 October, with a new set of rules. The forests of West Bengal reopened to tourists on 23 September after an extended closure. While these forests are locked down every year for two months during the monsoon—from 15 July to 15 September—this year, they have been out of bounds for tourists since March. Darjeeling, the state’s favourite hill-station, is also now accepting visitors. Tamil Nadu’s state of lockdown continues till October, but its hill-stations are open, with some exceptions. The Union Territory of Puducherry is also taking visitors and the Himalayan heights of Ladakh are also open (here’s what it is to holiday there right now). Even the Andaman & Nicobar islands have restarted some tourist activities. As a result, flights from the mainland will increase to 14 per week from now. Kerala was expected to reopen its tourist experiences in September or October, but there is no word on it yet. Tourist places opening in October in India Most of India’s eastern states will start welcoming tourists at some point in October. Odisha has decided to open up the beaches of Puri and Gopalpur, temples of Bhubaneswar and Konark, Chilka Lake and other experiences to tourists from October, though it has yet to announce a date. The government has launched the ‘Odisha by Road’ campaign to urge travellers to explore the state’s tourist circuit by road. Sikkim will reopen to tourists from 10 October. The state government has allowed hotels, homestays and other tourism-related services to resume operations and will also open the state border with West Bengal for unrestricted travel by road from 1 October. Bookings for hotels and homestays resumed from 27 September. Inner Line Permits for foreign tourists with valid visas shall be issued from 10 October. Tripura will also reopen all tourist spots in the state from 1 October. To promote tourism, the state will construct a helipad near the popular Dumbur Lake in the Chabimura region, famous for its rock carvings along the River Gomti. The tourism department has introduced water scooters as well as floating jetty and speed boat services at Dumbur Lake. The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu has indicated that the state will reopen for tourists after October, given how crucial tourism is to the local economy. In short, most of India is open for tourists. But remember that there are strict rules in place—masks are mandatory everywhere you go; physical distancing is obligatory and the need to respect local sensitivities and concerns is now more than ever.

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