New Delhi, June 5 : Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off IRCTC’s Tiger Express, a semi-luxury tourist train launched to spread awareness among people regarding tiger conservation, from Safdarjung station here.
Flagging off the train using a remote control from Mumbai, Prabhu said it has been launched to spread awareness about conservation of tigers.
This is the first semi-luxury train on a tourist circuit having a dining car. The itinerary has a tariff structure starting from Rs 38,500, IRCTC said in a statement.The package includes accommodation in air-conditioned rooms of three stars or equivalent ranked hotels for three nights, sightseeing, food, inter-city transfers and travel insurance, it said.
Giving details of the itinerary, an IRCTC official said during the five-night-six-day trip the train would take passengers to Katni from where they will be taken Bandhavgarh by road for a safari.
From there they will be taken to Kanha for another safari.
The tourists will then be taken to famous Dhuadhar Falls in Bhedaghar, Jabalpur, before heading back to Delhi.
“The Tiger Express is one of the most innovative tourist products launched by IRCTC. Its announcement was made by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech,” said Dr A K Manocha, CMD, IRCTC.
“We’ve planned monthly trips of the fully air-conditioned train October onward,” he added.
The train has been launched on the World Environment Day with an aim to spread awareness among people on tiger conservation, the Railways said in a statement.
Union minister Harshvardan and BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi attended the function.
“I congratulate railways for starting this train. Railways is attempting to make people realize the importance of tigers.
And I am happy about the fact that the launch of this train was announced in the budget and I am happy that the train has been started right on time,” Harshvardhan said.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the government is taking all possible steps to intensify pro-active measures to check illegal trade in wildlife and protect the flora and fauna of the state.
“Let us take a pledge to protect and preserve wildlife.
Let us show zero-tolerance to illegal trade in wildlife and make a difference,” Patnaik said at a function organised here on the occasion of the World Environment Day.
The state government is taking all possible steps to protect and preserve wildlife through a Wildlife Crime Control Cell which is functioning in Bhubaneswar, he said adding due to joint efforts of Wildlife Wing and CID, Crime Branch, illegal trade has been checked to a great extent.
Public awareness campaigns involving the local communities and voluntary organisations are being organised towards this end, he said.
Noting that the theme for this year’s Environment Day is “Illegal Trade in Wildlife,” the Chief minister said it has been chosen in order to generate awareness against mindless killing of wildlife and illegal trade of their body parts.
Stating that the world is dealing with unprecedented spike in illegal trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains, Patnaik said “we share the earth with millions of different species of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms.”
Every part of the planet is connected directly or indirectly with our life. When species are lost, ecosystems cannot function properly and the lives of all associated partners, including human being, would be disturbed, he said.
The chief minister also congratulated 217 ‘Prakruti Mitra’ and 205 ‘Prakruti Bandhu’ awardees who are doing outstanding work in the field of environment protection and conservation.
