Govt rolls out pilgrimage scheme
Chandigarh, November 20
The first batch of 1,000 pilgrims to be sent under Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra scheme, will board a train to Hazur Sahib Nanded in Maharashtra, on November 27.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal will flag off the train from Dhuri – the constituency of CM Mann. Another train will be flagged off by three ministers – Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar and Harbhajan Singh ETO for Hazur Sahib Nanded. Pilgrims would also be sent to other places of pilgrimage like Patna, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Mathura, Ayodhya, Salasar, Vaishno Devi, Naina Devi, Ajmer, etc.
The AAP government has reportedly sanctioned a budget of Rs 40 crore for the scheme this year. During this financial year, the government plans to send 13 trains to religious places, with 1,000 passengers going on each train. Other than this, four buses would be sent to religious places.
Officials in the state government claimed that the state has signed an MoU with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Under this, apart from accommodation and local transport arrangements for the passengers, three meals would be provided. Every eighth day, passengers would be sent on a train to religious places, a list of which will be prepared by the constituency MLAs.
