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GUWAHATI: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Limited on Thursday launched a special chartered tour package for people of NE to watch Durga Puja in Kolkata in a hassle-free way.With a fare of Rs 8,149 per person, the IRCTC have arranged the tour for the people of the northeast this Durga Puja. The journey in a special coach will kick off from the Guwahati railway station on the night of October 19."It's an endeavor to give a hassle free experience to the people of the north east to watch the biggest festival of the country. Watching Durga Puja in Kolkata has always been a great experience. The fare we have fixed for travelers is inclusive of food and stay. We have arranged buses to carry the visitors to the entry gates of puja pandals, which is not allowed for every vehicle. Besides, they will be also taken for sightseeing under the same fare," said Kaushik Banerjee, the regional manager of IRCTC here.The initiative taken by the IRCTC has come at a time when Kolkata-bound trains that are about to leave Guwahati during Durga Puja are running short of tickets. The IRCTC has also got support from Kolkata Police and the police personnel will guide the buses in which passengers from the northeast will travel."In view of unusual rush during the puja days, we have arranged security for the buses that will carry passengers to the puja pandals," added Banerjee. The visitors will be accommodated in standard hotels of Kolkata from where they will also be taken to Belur math, Dakshineswar Temple, Victoria Memorial and other tourist destinations in Kolkata.

The team of tourists will head to Guwahati from Kolkata on the day of Bijaya Dashami. The IRCTC authorities have also announced Rs 500 discount for the passengers, who book their ticket within the next 15 days from Thursday. Following the tour to Kolkata, the IRCTC has announced three more trips namely Spiritual Odissa, Royal Rajasthan and Golden Triangle for the people of NE states.

While Spiritual Odissa and Royal Rajasthan tour packages will be destined to Odisha and Rajasthan respectively, the Golden Triangle tour package will take the visitors for a ride to the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. All the three trips will be within Rs 12,000.

The train to Odisha and Rajasthan will leave Guwahati on November 22 and December 6 respectively. On December 29, the trip to Golden Triangle will kick off, said Banerjee. IRCTC is already running tour packages to Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram for people from outside the northeast.