Golden Chariot chugs off
Bangalore, dhns:  A traditional welcome with Dollu Kunitha and nadaswaram by the Dhanalakshmi troupe greeted 60 passengers, including badminton player Parkash Padukone, on the first commercial run of `The Golden Chariot’ that chugged off at 9 pm from Yeshwantpur on Monday.
Among the 26 travellers who had paid nearly a lakh for the week-long sightseeing trip were tourists from Austria, France, UK, USA and India. MD Prashant Kumar Thakur and 19 mediapersons too were on board the train, that can accommodate a maximum of 100 passengers. There were some tense moments prior to the start of the journey with around 25 activists of the Karnataka Rajya Madhyapaana Virodha Horata Samiti led by A T Babu staging a protest outside the station demanding the bar inside the train not be allowed. They were taken into custody. The next stop of the train is at Mysore.