by rakesh | Oct 6, 2007 | Travellers look
Smt. Ambika Soni, Union Minister of Tourism & Culture, Shri Chandan Mitra, Member of Parliament, Shri Ashok Ahuja, MLA, Delhi, Shri K. C. Jena, Chairman, Railway Board and senior officers of Ministry of Railways and IRCTC were among those present on the occasion. The train has been introduced by Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. Shri Lalu Prasad said that this special train has been introduced for the Buddhist pilgrimage from India and abroad particularly from the South Asian countries to promote tourism. The train will take passengers to important destinations linked to the life of Buddha such as Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalandha, Kushinagar, Lumbini, Sravasti. He said that the package includes train travel, road travel, all meals, deluxe hotel facilities, sight seeing, monument entry fees, security, insurance and guide services. The Minister informed that the travel related information for this train has been prepared in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai languages for the convenience of international travellers. The Minister pointed out that IRCTC is already running a “Bharat Darshan” train with a nominal fare of Rs.500 per day. More useful tour packages will be introduced for the benefit of the tourists, he added. He thanked the Ministry of Tourism for their cooperation in the project.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Ambika Soni, said that Railways in recent times have made tremendous progress and earned huge surplus. She pointed out that several passenger amenities introduced by Railways are helping in the promotion of tourism in a big way. She said that her department will continue to collaborate with Railways in the tourist sector.
The train covers the whole journey in eight days. The passengers will be taken to Gaya, Rajgir-Nalanda, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Lumbani in Nepal, Gonda, Agra and back to Delhi. The fare from October 2007 to March 2008 will be US$ 150, 105 and 88 for 1st AC, 2nd AC and 3rd AC respectively per person per night on twin sharing basis. In other words, the total individual fair for seven days will be US$ 1050, 735 and 616 respectively.
Tariff includes all the comforts of Rajdhani Express Air Conditioned train, which includes train journey, onboard/off board catering, house keeping, road transfer by AC vehicles, sightseeing, Darshan, visit to holy places, hotel stay in AC rooms and entrance fee at monuments. Indian passengers can pay in equivalent Rupee (INR) amount, at the exchange rate prevalent at the time of payment.
For information and booking, one can contact Email: tourticket@irctc.co.in or Market Office of IRCTC, 2nd Floor, STC Building, Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, 1-Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi-110001. Tel./Fax: 011-23701174, 23701145-47.
by rakesh | Oct 2, 2007 | India News
Today, October 2nd the Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi is celebrated an International Day of Non-Violence by the United Nations from this year. At a function organized by the Ministry of Culture and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti at Vigyan Bhawan here, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh administered the following pledge:
“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability, or the curse of intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the India of my dreams.” M.K. GANDHI.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Smt. Ambika Soni said history has time and again shown that violence can never be countered by violence, wars never bring peace and hatred and intolerance get only multiplied and reinforced whenever confronted with counter intolerance and hatred. She said Gandhiji, a visionary that he was, showed us the way out from this vicious circle. He clearly saw the futility of violent means to resolve conflicts and realize peace. She said the declaration of October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, as International Day of Non-Violence by UN mooted by India and supported by 142 member states is a manifestation of the change of hearts. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi “the world will live in peace, only when the individuals composing it make up their minds to do so”. Smt. Ambika Soni said this message can and should be practiced by all of us at individual levels if we want this world to be a better place to live.
by rakesh | Sep 28, 2007 | India News
In a new endeavour, to provide new, modern and improved facilities to the passengers of the Indian Railways, a common countrywide train enquiry telephone No.139 for West Zone will be inaugurated by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Naranbhai J. Rathawa at Chatterapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Mumbai on 29th September 2007. With the commissioning of this service which is known as Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES): ‘Rail Sampark’, the basic enquiry services like train arrival and departure, PNR status, availability of accommodation, train fare etc, are to be made available for the general public of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Dadar Nagar Haweli, Goa and Daman Diu with MTNL and BSNL subscribers. In addition to Hindi and English, enquiry services will also be available in Marathi and Gujarati for west zone.
In the first phase, Zonal hub for North Region at Delhi and call centre at Noida was commissioned on 17th July 2007. Under the North Zone basic enquiry services are being made available for general public of Delhi, NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajashtan, Uttrakhand state and Chandigarh with MTNL and BSNL as Telecom Service Provider (TSP).
The services in other two zones i.e. East and South Zones will begin in the month of October 2007.
Work of implementation of ITES is based on Public Private Partnership model. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in association with Centre for Railway Informatics System (CRIS) are responsible for rolling out this project across the country. . Execution of ITES is being done by Rail Enquiry Franchisee – M/s Bharat BPO and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
by rakesh | Sep 24, 2007 | India News
Five coaches of 9038 Avadh Express caught fire when the train, on its way from Gorakhpur (U.P.) to Mumbai, was passing through Bharuch district in Gujarat at 1.30 a.m. today. The Railway medical team along with senior Railway officers was immediately rushed to the spot. None of the passengers were hurt in the fire incident. The fire was noticed in one of its Sleeper Class coach (S-10) when the train was on its run between Lakodra-Palez section of Vadodara division in Western Railway. Immediately the train was stopped and all the passengers from the affected five coaches (S-8 to S-12) were cleared safely and shifted to other coaches. The train has since resumed its onward journey early this morning. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
by rakesh | Sep 22, 2007 | Business
The popular and endearing brand, Hutch, will be transitioned to Vodafone across India. This marks a significant chapter in the evolution of Vodafone as a dynamic and ever-growing brand. The brand change over the next few weeks will be unveiled nationally through a high profile campaign covering all important media.
Vodafone, the world’s leading mobile telecommunication company, completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007 and the company was formally renamed Vodafone Essar in July 2007.
Asim Ghosh, Managing Director, Vodafone Essar, said “We’ve had a great innings as Hutch in India and today marks a new beginning for us. Not as a departure from the fundamentals that created Hutch, but an acceleration into the future with Vodafone’s global expertise.”
Harit Nagpal, Marketing and New Business Director, Vodafone Essar, said, “This transition is probably the largest brand change ever undertaken in this country and arguably as big as any in the world. It is even larger than our own previous brand transitions as it touches over 35 million customers, across 400,000 shops and thousands of our own and our business associates’ employees.”
The Vodafone mission is to be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world – enriching customers’ lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities be more connected by delivering their total communication needs.
About Vodafone Essar Limited
Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular licence for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86% of India’s mobile customer base, with over 34.1 million customers*.
Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year’.
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 200 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.
The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with interests spanning the manufacturing and service sectors like Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics and Construction. The Group has an asset base of over Rs.400 billion (US$ 10 billion) and employs over 20,000 people.
*Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, August 31, 2007.
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