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Starting next week, Delhi government will be sending senior citizens from the national capital to Ayodhya for darshan of Shri Ram Lalla under the free pilgrimage scheme the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana', chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced today, new agency ANI reported.
“Our first train for Ayodhya will be leaving on 3rd December, registrations have started," he said on Tuesday. As many as 1000 people will be leaving for Ayodhya on the train.
"There is great demand from senior citizens for the pilgrimage scheme. We are getting large number of applications for pilgrimage to different places, including Ayodhya. Pilgrims for other places will be sent after preparations are complete," said Kamal Bansal, chairman of the Delhi government's Tirth Yatra Vikas Samiti.
The city government arrange pilgrimage to senior citizen for free. Under this scheme, the pilgrims get to visit Vaishno Devi, Shirdi, Rameswaram, Dwarka, Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan and other sites. Last month, the city government added Ayodhya to the list.
After the proposal was approved by the Cabinet, the chief minister had said, “Senior citizens of Delhi can now visit Ayodhya and offer prayers at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi for free."
The pilgrimage scheme had been halted due to COVID-19, but now instructions have been issued to resume it, the official said, adding that trains for various destinations are expected to start in the next month.
'Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana: All you need to know
The Kejriwal government in 2019 launched the free pilgrimage scheme under which people aged 60 years and above and their attendants are provided free pilgrimage every year. Initially, there were five pilgrimage sites under the scheme and later, seven more sites were added to it.
Senior citizens availing free pilgrimage are issued certificates by the MLAs of their respective areas. The ministers of the Delhi government and the chairman of the Tirth Yatra Vikas Samiti also issue certificates to the applicants.
The Delhi government bears all the expenses on the pilgrimage, including the travel, food and accommodation charges. Facilities like paramedical staff and attendants are also provided during the journey.
One attendant aged 21 or more can accompany each traveller. The government bears the expenses for the attendant too.
(With inputs from agencies)
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