Bihar preparing for Bhutanese guests

Patna, Jun 7 (PTI) Preparations are afoot by Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) to welcome tourists from Bhutan in the coming tourism season. A six-day and seven-night tour package, including food, accommodation and sight-seeing is being worked out for the proposed visit of the Bhutanese, state Tourism Minister Sunil Kumar Pintoo said. The trip to Buddhist circuit destinations in the state from Bhutan would involve journey by road and railways. The train journey would start from Randia, a small place few kilometres away from New Jalpaiguri (NJP), which would conclude at Bodh Gaya and from where tourists would visit Rajgir before going to Kesaria and Vaishali by road, he said. “The train will have two air-conditioned and eight non-AC bogies”, he said. Thousands of tourists from Bhutan visit Bodh Gaya, especially during winter when there are a number of Buddhist festivals. The route of the Buddhist circuit has been charted out and the food menu and accommodation facilities are being planned for nearly 800 tourists who would arrive on the first special train, he added. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his recent Bhutan visit emphasised on promotion of tourism and said the state government would welcome tourists from here with open arms.