Assam: Vistadome train service from today to boost tourism

Now, enjoy the natural beauty of the Dooars area in the foothills of the Himalayas in Vistadome Coach.

Shri John Barla, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, Minority Affairs, Govt. of India today flagged off a Vistadome Tourist special train between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar Jn. pic.twitter.com/jdilQLOgeF

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) August 28, 2021

The Wire, 28 Aug 21 : Today, August 28, onwards, the Indian Railways will run Vistadome coaches in one route in Assam with an aim to boost tourism.

In these, air-conditioned, chair car fitted, tourist special coaches will have glass roofs and large windows aimed at providing passengers with a 360° view of the natural vista that they will be passing through. This is a first in the Northeast. 

As per news reports, Northeast Frontier (NF) Railways will run the coaches from Guwahati to the scenic Dima Hasao district in upper Assam with tickets priced at Rs 1,150 each. As per Anshul Gupta, general manager, NF Railways (Guwahati), the coaches will be wi-fi enabled, will have observation lounges, rotational seats and a digital entertainment system.

CCTV cameras have been fitted along with fire alarms for passenger safety. 

The train service, to be run on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6.35 am from Guwahati, would cover the 269 km distance in five hours. It will halt only at Maibong and Manderdisa stations in Dima Hasao district. Starting at 5 pm from Haflong, Assam’s only hill station, and reach Guwahati by 10.45 pm.

Aside from this route in Assam, the NF Railway has also started from today a similar coach for tourists through the tea-garden lined New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar junction in North Bengal. 

The German made Vistadome coaches were introduced by Indian Railways in some regular routes since 2020. The tourist specials are additional service meant for sightseeing with comfort. As per reports, the routes in which the Railways have already fitted Vistadome coaches to trains are Dadar, Madgaon, the Araku Valley, the Kashmir Valley, the Kalka Shimla Railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway, the Matheran Hill Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

Tripura: Seven districts feature in top ten list in first edition of Northeast SDG Index 

Seven districts of Tripura are in the top ten from among 103 districts picked from the Northeast to monitor Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). 

The SDG Index, put together by Niti Aayog in collaboration with the DoNER ministry, has measured the progress of a district on achieving SDGs which include levels of poverty, hunger, health, education, clean water, sanitation, gender equality, economic growth and clean and affordable energy. 

Released on August 27 by the Union government-run think tank and planning body along with the DoNER ministry, the first edition of the North Eastern Region District SDG Index Report and Dashboard 2020-21 had named East Sikkim district at the top of the list. Yet another district which featured in the top ten of the Index from the state is South Sikkim. 

While Gomati and North Tripura districts were placed second after East Sikkim in the Index on the region, the rest of the five districts from Tripura with good SDGs are South Tripura, West Tripura, Unakoti, Dhalai and Sepajhala. The Dhalai and Sepajhala districts were together ranked at the eight position.  

Three districts from Mizoram – Kolasib, Lunglei and Serchhip – also featured among the top ten districts from the region. 

While no district of Assam from among the 103 districts featured in the top ten list, among the worst were Kiphire and Zunheboto in Nagaland and Kra Daadi in Arunachal Pradesh. Among the bottom ten districts, six were from Nagaland, one from Meghalaya (North Garo Hills) and three from Arunachal (Shi Yomi, East Kameng and Kamle).

Rajiv Kumar, NITI Aayog vice chairman, releasing the report, said, “The North Eastern Region District SDG Index is an important milestone in our SDG journey aimed at leaving no one behind and will strengthen SDG localisation, by putting the districts, especially in our eight Northeastern states, at the forefront of SDG adoption, implementation, and monitoring.”