IRCTC to set up tent city for Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj

Mumbai: In a first, IRCTC will set up a tent city at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh for the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious congregation held once in 12 years, beginning next month.

A total of 400 tents will be set up in the “Mahakumbha Gram”, said Gaurav Jha, group general manager of IRCTC’s western region.

“The tents offer state-of-the-art comfort, convenience, medical support, round-the-clock security, high-end culinary experiences, and overall hospitality, for which IRCTC is renowned,” Jha said.

He said 300 of the 400 tents will be in the deluxe category and the rest 100 will be premium tents.

Depending upon the type and facilities, pricing of tents will start at a minimum of Rs 12,000.

“The tents are well connected to the bathing ghats and other places of interest at Prayagraj. A separate dining area with sit-down facilities and top-class catering completes the experience,” Jha said.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a public sector undertaking that provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the state-owned Indian Railways.

Jha said IRCTC has planned 13 Bharat Gaurav trains for Kumbh Mela connectivity, including four from the western region- two from Pune and one each from Rajkot and Indore.

He said the “Maha Kumbh Punya Kshetra Yatra” trains planned from Pune will depart on January 15 and February 5 covering Lonavala, Karjat, Panvel, Kalyan, Nasik, Manmad, Chalisgaon, Jalgaon, and Bhusaval stations.

Each train departing from Maharashtra has a tourist capacity of 750, Jha said, adding that ticket booking has already started.

The “Maha Kumbh Punya Kshetra Yatra” trains will cover Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya during their seven-night-and eight-day journey.

The tour packages of the trains will start at Rs 22,940 which includes a stay at the IRCTC tent city.

The IRCTC also launched other rail tour packages and air tour packages, especially for Kumbh Mela.