New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) A train carrying elderly pilgrims for the Dwarka-Somnath route under the Delhi government’s Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna was flagged off from the Safdarjung station here on Monday.
This was the fourth pilgrimage train after the scheme was resumed on February 14 with the flagging off of a Dwarka-Somnath route train.
The scheme for the elderly was disrupted in the first week of January this year due to the third wave of Covid driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The February 14 batch was followed by trains of pilgrims sent for Rameshwaram-Madurai on February 18 and Puri-Bhubneshwar on February 19.
Also, trains will be flagged off for the Rameshwaram-Madurai route on February 28. Trains for Puri-Bhubneshwar and Dwarka-Somnath routes will be flagged off on March 1 and March 7 respectively, officials said.
Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot said the Kejriwal dispensation was the first government in the country that has realised the dream of the elderly to go on pilgrimage.
“Our elderly from Delhi today departed for Dwarkadhish Ji under Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna. Kejriwal government is the first government in the country that has realised the dream of elderly people to go on pilgrimage. The devotees thanked CM Arvind Kejriwal for the excellent arrangement of the travel,” he tweeted.
Under the scheme, people aged 60 years and above are sent on pilgrimages to 15 routes fully sponsored by the Delhi government.
The government pays for travel, accommodation and other expenses of each pilgrim who can also take along an attendant with them. Each train carries nearly 1,000 people. PTI VIT NSD NSD
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