New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) A special tourist train that will take passengers to cities associated with social reformer B R Ambedkar across the country was on Friday flagged from Delhi marking his 132nd birth anniversary.

The Bharat Gaurav tourist train tour on Ambedkar Circuit was flagged off by Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy, and Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station.

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The special train will take passengers on a seven nights and eight days tour and include key sites in Maharashtra and Bihar.

This Bharat Gaurav tourist train aims to give a glimpse of the life and legacy of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar to all the passengers, Reddy said.

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The tourism minister said the train also aims to promote domestic tourism and the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat'.

He said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "developed the sites related to Babasaheb Ambedkar not only in India but also in London".

The government has taken many steps to promote the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar in today's world, Reddy said.

The minister later also tweeted pictures from the ceremony.

"Reminisching the life & legacy of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Flagged off the first Baba Saheb Ambedkar Yatra - Bharat Gaurav Train at Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti," he tweeted.

"Ambedkar Yatra is one of many initiatives of the @NarendraModi government to commemorate his legacy and pay tribute to his indelible contributions to the country's progress," he wrote on the microblogging site.

Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment said the Bharat Gaurav train is an "effective step" to promote 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' under "Dekho Apna Desh".

He also said that Babasaheb faced very challenging situations in his life, and his life journey to empower the last man in the hierarchy and remove discrimination based on caste is very inspiring.

Bharat Gaurav tourist train launch is in line with the centra government initiative “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote special interest circuits in domestic tourism, the tourism ministry said in a statement.

Babasaheb worked all his life for equality and fraternity and today the train is representative of that equality and the passengers travelling will come back with many memories and knowledge about the principles of Babasaheb Ambedkar, it said.

The IRCTC in association with the Ministry of Tourism is operating its first tour on the Ambedkar circuit on an eight-day special tour that started from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station on Friday, the statement said.

The Ambedkar yatra will include a visit to prominent places associated with the life of the social reformer like New Delhi, Mhow, and Nagpur while sacred Buddhist sites like Sanchi, Sarnath, Gaya and Rajgir and Nalanda are also on the itinerary, it said.

The tourist train first halted at New Delhi Railway Station, from where tourists were taken on a visit to the Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial by buses, the ministry said.

The next stop of the train will be at Dr. Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow), his birthplace (Bhim Janam Bhoomi). Then it will move to Nagpur Railway Station where tourists will proceed to visit Deekshabhoomi, a consecrated monument of Navayana Buddhism, it added.

The train will depart from Nagpur for Sanchi. The sightseeing at Sanchi comprises the Sanchi Stupa and other Buddhist sites.

After Sanchi, Varanasi will be the next destination. The visit to Sarnath and Kashi Vishwanath temple will be a part of the sightseeing.

Gaya is the next and the last destination that the train arrives at on the sixth day of the journey. The holy site of Bodhgaya is where tourists visit the famous Mahabodhi Temple and other monasteries.

The next day the tourists proceed for sightseeing at Rajgir and Nalanda in Bihar by road. Buddhist sites and the ruins at Nalanda are the key sites.

The train will then depart from Gaya for New Delhi bringing the circuit tour to an end, the ministry said.

The tourist train is fitted with a well-equipped pantry car for rustling up freshly made vegetarian meals for tourists. Infotainment system, CCTV cameras, and security guard services shall is also available on board, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)