Hyderabad, Apr 29 (Agency) Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy on Saturday flagged off the third “Ganga Pushkarala Yatra Puri-Kashi-Ayodhya” Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train at Secunderabad Railway station. South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Arun Kumar Jain, Abhay Kumar Gupta, Divisional Railway Manager, Secunderabad Division, P. Raj Kumar, GGM, IRCTC along with other Senior Railway officials participated in the flagging-off of the Bharat Gaurav Train. Speaking on the occasion, Kishan Reddy said that Indian Railways is providing a great opportunity to the pilgrim passengers all over India with the introduction of Bharat Gaurav Trains to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places to the people of India and the world. Bharat Gaurav Trains have evoked a great response from the people of two Telugu states. Indian Railways aims to leverage the core strengths of the professionals of the tourism sector to run pilgrimage based trains to tap the vast tourist potential of India.
The Minister also said that Railways is introducing Mata Vaishnodevi with Haridwar – Rishikesh Bharat Gaurav Tourism Train from June 10 to June 18. SCR GM said that the train offers a unique opportunity to pilgrim passengers to visit these culturally prominent places without the hassle of planning individual itinerary items. He said that, Bharat Gaurav trains will give major fillip to the growth of Tourism in the country, while also fulfilling the desire the tourist passengers in the most convenient manner. A festive atmosphere prevailed at the station premises with Rail Yatris being greeted with traditional welcome and Kuchipudi dancers evoking cultural heritage of the two Telugu states. Introduction of Bharat Gaurav Trains is a testament of the continuous endeavor of the Indian Railways to provide enhanced train services to the rail passengers in the two Telugu states. This train provides a unique opportunity to the pilgrim passengers of both the Telugu speaking states.
Till now, two trips (on March 18 and April 18) had already been operated under the initiative and have seen enthusiastic response from the passengers, with the train being fully booked (about 700 passengers in a trip). The 4th and 5th trip have also been announced which will be commencing on May 13 and May 27 respectively. The third trip of the present Bharat Gaurav Train coincides with the Sacred Pushkaralu in the holy river Ganga being held from April 22 to May 3. The train provides a unique opportunity to pilgrim passengers of both Telugu states by providing boarding / de-boarding facility at Secunderabad, Kazipet, Khammam, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. The Train will take the pilgrim passengers to visit some of the most sacred religious places of Hindus like Kashi, Ayodhya, Puri, Konark, Prayagraj and Gaya.