Tirupati: IRCTC flight package for darshan of Lord Balaji

Tirupati: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has been giving a big push to its various tour packages which were hit adversely during the pandemic period for the past one year. It has organised some tours in between the first and second waves and as the Covid cases started coming down, the IRCTC has again come up with some new packages to promote tourism apart from bringing the existing packages to the fore again.

IRCTC Deputy General Manager DSGP Kishore told the media here on Tuesday that the domestic flight packages will commence from Hyderabad to various destinations. Pilgrims desirous of visiting Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala can comfortably plan their travel by air which includes two days and one night.

They have announced two such trips as of now between Hyderabad and Tirupati. The first tour will leave Hyderabad on August 13 and return on the next day. The second tour is scheduled for August 27 with the return on the next day. This package tour will cover Tirupati, Kanipakam, Srinivasa Mangapuram, Srikalahasti, Tiruchanur and Tirumala. In Tirumala the pilgrims will be provided special entrance darshan. The package starting price will be Rs 11,650 per head.

Similarly, the other tours include Heritage Hampi Air package, Royal Rajasthan, Ganga Gaya Yatra, Goa delight and Saurashtra with statue of Unity which will have different durations and price packages. The packages include onward and return air tickets, 3-star hotel accommodation with breakfast and dinner and AC transportation on a sharing basis among other things.

The IRCTC has also introduced a new package called 'Uttara Bharat Yatra' to cover Agra, Mathura, Vaishnodevi, Amritsar, Haridwar and Delhi. The 10 nights and 11 days tour will commence on August 27 from Renigunta and will proceed via Vijayawada, Nalgonda, Secunderabad, Kazipet, Peddapalli, Ramagundam, and Nagpur. It will conclude again at Renigunta on September 6.

This pilgrim special train will have both AC 3-Tier and non AC coaches. The fare for travelling in non AC coach is fixed at Rs 10,400 while for AC 3 Tier it will be Rs 17,330. It will also operate package tours with the names 'Mahalaya Pind Daan Tarpan' to cover Varanasi, Prayagraj and Gaya in September, 'Dakshin Bharat Yatra' covering Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Rameswaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram in October.

The DGM said that all tours will be organised duly following Covid appropriate behaviour. Every passenger will be given a Covid kit daily during the tour days which includes the sanitiser, masks and gloves apart from other things.

Tirupati Area Manager V Y Prasad said that the packages will include tour escorts. For details people may visit IRCTC website www.irctctourism.com or contact 8287932313 or 8287932317 numbers.