344 board train from Amritsar to Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded

Amritsar, November 27

The free pilgrimage scheme began with the flagging off the first train to Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded from Amritsar today. The maiden batch of 344 pilgrims boarded the train from the Amritsar railway station in the presence of Cabinet ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Harbhajan Singh ETO under the scheme christened as ‘Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra’.

The AAP government’s scheme is a replica of the ‘Tirath Yatra’ that was originally launched on January 1, 2016, during the then SAD-BJP government. Around Rs 139 crore was spent on the scheme before the then Congress government scrapped the scheme in June 2017, apparently owing to burden on the exchequer.

Six years later, with an eye on the ensuing parliamentary elections, a special budget of Rs 40 crore has been spared to offer special trains and AC bus service for free pilgrimage.