February 9, 2022
NEW DELHI – The Delhi government’s free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens under the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana will be resumed next week in view of the Covid-19 situation being under control now.
According to official sources, one such train carrying pilgrims aged 60 years and above will leave Delhi for Dwarka in Gujarat on 14 February and another train with aged pilgrims will be heading for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on 18 February.
Under the scheme, launched by Delhi’s Kejriwal government in 2019, the Delhiites who have attained the age of 60 years and above can visit as pilgrims free of cost sacred places like Vaishno Devi, Shirdi, Rameswaram, Dwarka, Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan and Ayodhya, added to the list last year.
The scheme is set to be resumed after it remained halted for over a month. The scheme has remained suspended since 7 January when a train scheduled to take pilgrims to Vailankanni Church, Tamil Nadu, was
cancelled.
Initially, the scheme was meant for only five places of pilgrimage, but seven more places were added to the list later on.
Those who wish to make use of the scheme have to get eligibility certificates from the MLA of their area concerned. Such certificates can also be obtained from the Delhi government’s ministers and the Chairman of the national capital’s Tirth Yatra Vikas Samiti.
Pilgrims are provided free facilities like the paramedical staff and one attendant each to take care of their various needs. Besides the travel cost, the government also bears the pilgrims’ food and accommodation-related expenses.