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India’s 1st 100% Centralized AC Railway Station Is Now Operational: This Is How It Looks!

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has confirmed the completion of India’s first centralised AC railway station in Bengaluru. Indian Railways is all set to open the country’s first centralised AC terminal in Bengaluru, named after the Bharat Ratna Indian civil engineer, Sir M Visvesvaraya. The railway ministry has informed that the country’s first centralised AC railway station is now ready for operations, a glimpse of which can be seen in the video posted by Piyush Goyal. Sir M.Visvesvaraya Terminal Ready for Operation The railway ministry since over a couple of years has been working on redeveloping different railway stations across the country to match international as well as airport-like standards. In a step towards achieving the same, the railway ministry has announced the completion of India’s first centralised AC railway station, Sir M.Visvesvaraya Terminal, ready for operation in Bengaluru. ‘The railway station has been provided with enhanced passenger amenities, adequate parking spaces, beautiful landscape, and infrastructure’, mentions the Financial Express. IR Currently Redeveloping 123 Stations As mentioned before, the railway ministry has taken upon the project to redevelop and renovate different railway stations across the country, to provide better, more secure and airplane-like experiences. The rail ministry has recently informed of ongoing redevelopment work at 123 railway stations, of which the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation is working on 63, while the Rail Land Development Authority on 60 stations. The Railways minister Piyush Goyal reviewed the work progress at Habibganj and Gandhinagar railway stations, which are envisioned to be the world’s first airport-like stations. This includes working on multi-modal hubs along with commercial development. The ministry informs that a total of Rs 50,000 crore, according to present estimates will be required to renovate and redevelop 123 railway stations. The renovation work has already started and ongoing at Habibganj, Gwalior, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Nagpur, Ajni, Safdarjung, New Delhi, Ayodhya, Gomti Nagar, Gandhinagar, Sabarmati, Tirupati, Nellore, AMritsar, Ernakulam, Dehradun and Puducherry stations.

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Jammu Tourism to organise 'Fulkari-2021

The Directorate of Tourism, Jammu is organising 'Fulkari-2021’, a festival of folk, colours and music on March 27-28. The two-day festival is part of a series of promotional activities scheduled to attract tourists to Jammu post Covid-19 pandemic. Director Tourism Jammu Nasim Javaid Choudhary addressing a press conference here said that Jammu region endowed with abundant natural beauty is all set to promote itself as a premier tourist destination by celebrating the first of its kind mega event named ‘Fulkari-2021’. The event will showcase Jammu as a heritage, cultural, literary and pilgrimage destination of India. He maintained that Jammu too has a big potential to tap with regard to tourism activities. He said that the foothills of Jammu, the holy lakes of Mansar and Surinsar, the forts of Mahoregarh and Samba etc offer a range of activities for people of all age groups. He mentioned that the main aim behind "Fulkari-2021" is to promote Mansar and Jammu as a most sought tourist destinations of the country. He said that to enhance the feeling of festivity a plethora of activities will be organised in these two days concentrating on adventure, nature, culture, entertainment etc. Explaining he said that the first day of event March 27 includes adventure activities like MTB from Surinsar to Mansar, Nature Walk, Live Painting Competition, etc. In the evening there would be an ethnic fashion show along with celebrity performance by famous Punjabi singer Rohanpreet Singh. “The second day of event includes live musical performance by Afsana Khan, and our own Gursaaz from Jammu who won the best singer of PTC Punjabi Music awards 2020 and other renowned artists of Jammu” said Choudhary giving details about the events scheduled for 2nd day. Further, he said: "The two-day festivity will unleash the vibrant side of Jammu and Mansar bringing the city together in a colorful blend of adventure, culture, heritage and entertainment, this event will Surely provide Mansar with a new lease of life". In one of its unique endeavour, tourism department is also organising photography competition, videography competition, bird Watching and Jammu Tourism Tag Line Competition on this occasion. The Competitions will open on March 27 and run for a period of next one week. The official Dates and other terms and condition for the same will be communicated on the inauguration of the event. The event also covers FAM Tours to various participants/ bloggers from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra etc. Fulkari- 2021 will surely add a new lease of life to the tourism season post Covid-19 pandemic, he enunciated.

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Indian Railways announces more Holi Special Trains! See halts, timings and other details

IRCTC Holi Special Trains: Indian Railways announces more Holi Festival Special Trains! In a bid to clear the extra rush of traffic during the forthcoming festival of Holi this month as well as to ensure better convenience to travellers, the Western Railway zone has decided to run Holi Special train services between Bandra Terminus – Jaipur, Bandra Terminus – Bhagat Ki Kothi, Surat – Muzaffarpur as well as Udhna – Madgaon. According to the national transporter, these Holi special trains will run as fully reserved train services o­n special fare. The train tickets can be booked at nominated PRS counters and IRCTC website. Following is the list of Holi Special Trains, announced by the Western Railway Zone along with their halt stations, timings and other details: Bandra Terminus – Jaipur Superfast Special Train (two trips): Train number 09005 will leave Bandra Terminus o­n 26 March at 11.15 AM and will reach Jaipur at 05.35 AM, the next day. Similarly, train number 09006 will leave Jaipur o­n 27 March at 1.00 PM and will arrive Bandra Terminus at 06.30 AM, the next day. The train will consist of AC 3-tier and Sleeper Class coaches and in both directions, it will halt at Borivali, Valsad, Vapi, Navsari, Bharuch, Surat, Ratlam, Vadodara, Nagda, Kota, Ramganj Mandi and Sawai Madhopur railway stations. Bandra Terminus – Bhagat Ki Kothi Superfast Special Train (two trips): Train number 09143 will depart from Bandra Terminus at 9.45 PM o­n 25 March and will reach Bhagar Ki Kothi at 1.15 PM, the next day. Similarly, train number 09144 will depart at 4.25 PM o­n 26 March and arrive Bandra Terminus at 07.35 AM, the next day. The train will consist of AC 3-tier and Sleeper Class coaches and in both directions, it will halt at Vapi, Surat, Borivali, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Abu Road, Palanpur, Jawai Bandh and Pali Marwar railway stations. Surat – Muzaffarpur Special Train (two trips): Train number 09049 will leave Surat at 07.40 AM o­n 26 March and reach Muzaffarpur at 04.30 AM o­n Sunday. Similarly, train number 09050 will depart from Muzaffarpur at 8.10 PM o­n 28 March and will arrive Surat at 5.05 PM o­n Tuesday. It will comprise of AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier, Sleeper Class as well as Second seating coaches. The train, in both directions, will halt at Maksi, Vadodara, Ashok Nagar, Ratlam Ujjain, Biyavra Rajgarh, Guna, Bina, Gwalior, Jhansi, Agra Cantt, Kanpur Central, Tundla, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Faizabad, Shahganj, Mau, Ballia, Azamgarh, Chhapra and Hajipur stations. Udhna – Madgaon Superfast Special Train (two trips): Train number 09067 will leave Udhna at 4.00 PM o­n 26 March and will reach Madgaon at 09.30 AM, the next day. Similarly, train number 09068 will leave Madgaon at 12.00 PM o­n 27 March and will arrive Udhna at 04.25 AM, the next day. The train will consist of AC 3-tier and Sleeper class coaches and in both directions, it will halt at Navsari, Vapi, Valsad, Vasai Road, Khed, Roha, Panvel, Mangaon, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Sangmeshwar, Vaibhavwadi Road, Rajapur Road, Sindhudurg, Kankavali, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim and Karmali railway stations.

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Mumbai: International travellers can now skip quarantine if fully vaccinated

If you are flying into Mumbai from an international destination, you might no longer have to undergo mandatory quarantine if you are fully vaccinated. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a new order recently, according to which, vaccinated travellers will be exempted from the week-long institutional quarantine on arrival. Reportedly, those travelling into Mumbai from the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, and Brazil can now avoid the quarantine process if they are fully vaccinated. However, take note that this exemption that has been granted by the Mumbai civic authorities will not apply to those arriving at other airports in the state or the country. As per the previous order that was issued on January 20, all passengers arriving from or transiting via the said destinations, were required to undergo a seven-day institutional quarantine, which was to be followed by a week of home quarantine. However, now as per the latest order, those who have been inoculated with COVID vaccine and are able to provide proof of both vaccination certificates along with a self-declaration in a prescribed format, will be exempt from the quarantine rules. Also, as per the new order, six other categories of people can be exempted from quarantine; vis a vis those: Who are above the age of 65 Women in the advanced stage of pregnancy Parents travelling with children above the age of five Those with serious illnesses, and in need of immediate medical assistance Medical professionals travelling to attend patients in a critical condition.

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Three-day 'Indian Travel Mart' organised in Jammu to boost domestic tourism

In an effort to boost domestic tourism, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Tourism has organised a three-day 'Indian Travel Mart' in Jammu. Colourful displays of various places one can visit, with details of their various attractions and attractive pavilions have been put up by the tourism departments of various states and representatives of various hotels and resorts from Jammu and Kashmir and nearby cities. Speaking to ANI, Ajay Gupta, Managing Director, India Travel Mart, said, "Post COVID, this is the first such kind of physical exhibition in Jammu and Kashmir. The main aim of this event is to promote domestic tourism. The reason behind doing this in Jammu and Kashmir is to promote the Union Territory as a film location and encourage destination weddings, ice tourism, adventure tourism here. 100 to 150 tour operators and travel agents have come to participate in the event." "This has been organised at a time when international borders are closed and domestic tourism is receiving a very good response. The theme of this event is "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" and we are proving very good packages for tourists. Earlier those people who used to prefer international locations for weddings and film shooting are now picking locations within the country for the same events. Here people are getting different packages for different domestic locations under one roof through this three-day event," he added. VK Sehgal, a travel writer and journalist, said, "This event is a kind of advertisement and networking. Whenever there is a crisis, there is always a need for a resurgence after this crisis. So, this programme, post-COVID is very good as it provides a platform for the people for interaction. Secondly, there are places that are otherwise nowhere to be seen on a tourist map, people are made aware of them too in such events. This programme also gives information to the tourists planning to travel to newer places." "These programmes lead to cultural exchange, capacity building because wherever a tourist goes, they always contribute to the economy of that place. Moreover, when people travel taking precautions, it also gives out a message that now we have started overcoming the crisis situation and things are normalising," said Sehgal. Satish Ambardar, a travel agency operator hailing from Jammu said, "Now when people are not able to go out, they are focussing on domestic tourism. India has vast tourism with many things to explore. So, our main focus is on domestic tourism. The pandemic broke the spine of the tourism industry last year. But now people are going out, planning trips which are good for the country's tourism and tourism industry." After browsing through different exciting options, one can have a face-to-face interaction with tour operators, travel agents and hoteliers from across the country and gather information about the upcoming holiday season. The basic purpose of holding this showcase and conclave is to boost domestic tourism awareness. Members of National local travel trade associations like Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI), Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Network of Indian Mice Agents (NIMA), India Golf Tourism Association (IGTA), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Indian Association of Travel and Tourism Experts (IATTE), Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), Tourism Leaders Club of Gujarat (TLC) are the supporting partners of this event.

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Arunachal CM flags off ‘Dekho Apna Pradesh’ to boost tourism

Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday flagged off the ‘Dekho Apna Pradesh’ campaign in presence of Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Tourism Minister Nakap Nalo here from the D K Convention Centre. ‘Dekho Apna Pradesh’, a brainchild of Khandu conceptualised in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign, is an attempt to promote tourism within the state to heal the damage caused to the sector by the COVID 19 pandemic. As Arunachal Pradesh is geographically a big state, Khandu claimed that not many of its residents must have visited places other than their work place or residency. “I bet not all of us must have visited all the tourist places of the district other than our own. Ours is such a vast state and there’s so much to see and learn of other tribes, culture and places. This campaign is to encourage our people to visit other places of their own state. This will not only benefit the tourism sector but also create awareness on the diversity of the state bringing in unity,” he said. In the first phase of the campaign, stakeholders like tour operators, home stay owners, transporters, hoteliers, bloggers, etc will travel on different tourist circuits of the state in groups. “I may not be wrong if I claim that even not all stakeholders, especially the tour operators, must have visited all tourist places of the state. Therefore, we are facilitating them to travel to other districts in the first phase of the campaign,” Khandu informed. He said that this would not only let the stakeholders gain first-hand knowledge of the places they visit but also get acquainted with local stakeholders and even land up with business deals. Khandu requested the stakeholders to come back benefited from the 10-day visits and encourage local people of their respective areas to explore places within the state. “This way people will become aware of their state and at the same time contribute in their revenue generation,” he said. He also requested all stakeholders to create awareness within the locals in hospitality etiquettes. “We have to teach our people to be good hosts, change our mindset of looking at every new face with suspicion and to have welcoming attitude towards all. Unless we do this, no amount of campaign will succeed,” he said. Citing tourism as one of the best sectors for investment, the Chief Minister made a call to well-to-do businessmen, entrepreneurs and youths of the state to invest in tourism along with agriculture and allied sectors. He said returns will come good and fast as these sectors are the future of the state. Reiterating his push for high-end tourism in line with that of Bhutan, Khandu stressed on quality in service with authentic information. He said all tour operators along with District Tourism Officers and Tourist Information Officers should be well equipped with the history, culture and importance of all tourist places in their jurisdictions. “Whatever information you pass on to visitors must be authentic. Tourists should not leave the state loaded with misinformation,” he cautioned. Assuring that the state government is committed to promote tourism in the state, Khandu gave details of the schemes like Chief Minister’s Paryatan Shiksha Yojana (CMPSY), Chief Minister’s Paryatan Vikas Yojana (CMPVY) and the Chief Minister’s Advanced Certificate Course (CMACC). Under CMPSY youths from the hospitality sector are sent to reputed institutes for training, while under CMPVY, a value-added subsidy scheme, funds are granted for opening home stays, restaurants, bakery, food courts and adventure sports. Under the CMACC, youths are trained in adventure and allied sports for which government has tied up with the Dirang-based National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS). “Under CMPVY about 200 youths have benefited in establishing home stays and adventure sports centres while 100 have availed subsidies to open bakeries and restaurants. Further, so far about 225 youths have been trained for adventure tourism under the CMACC,” Khandu informed. Under the first phase of the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign, 60 participants divided in 3 groups (A, B & C) would embark on a 10-day journey of various tourism circuits of western, eastern and central Arunachal where they would learn more about the area’s culture, heritage, food habits and most importantly its tourism aspects.

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