Delhi govt's pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens to resume soon

The flagship scheme of the Delhi government, Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yatra Yojna, will resume soon with senior citizens going on pilgrimages of Puri and Tirupati, officials said on Thursday.

The scheme was halted due to the model code of conduct imposed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which concluded in June.

Under the scheme operated by Teerth Yatra Vikas Samiti of the Delhi government, citizens aged 60 years and above accompanied by one attendant are sent on pilgrimages across the country free of cost.

"The scheme was interrupted due to the model code of conduct. It is likely to resume from last week of July or the first week of August, with trains planned for Puri and Tirupati," Teerth Yatra Vikas Samiti chairperson Kamal Bansal said.

He said that there was a large demand from the senior citizens to visit Jagannath temple in Puri during the auspicious month of Shravan, beginning from July 22.

Preparations for sending the pilgrims to different places have started in coordination with the railways, Bansal added.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 89th train under the scheme before elections in February for Dwarkadhish. So far, over 84,000 pilgrims have visited different religious places across the country under the scheme.

Over a dozen pilgrim places, including Rameswaram, Shirdi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan and Ayodhya, are covered under the scheme.

The scheme was launched by the Kejriwal-led AAP government in 2019 with five pilgrimage destinations and more were added later, the officials said.