On Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Cabinet has approved the addition of Ayodhya in its free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens.
Addressing the media, Kejriwal said that the Delhi government’s ‘Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yatra Yojana’ will be free of cost for the aged people. The religious places that are already included under the scheme are Vaishno Devi, Rameshwaram, Dwarka Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura and Vrindavan. Over 35,000 senior citizens have undertaken pilgrimage under the scheme.
“Elderly people can also bring a member/kin along,” he said, adding that the scheme which was stopped for over one year due to Covid-19 will probably be resumed within a month.
Under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojana’, senior citizens are provided travel by AC trains and stay in AC hotels and all the expenses are borne by the Delhi government. Delhi residents above the age of 60 are covered under this scheme.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kejriwal offered prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya and said his government will include the temple town of Ayodhya in the Delhi government’s free pilgrimage scheme.
“I was fortunate that I got the chance to bow before Ram Lalla and I wish everyone must get this chance. Whatever capability I have, I will use that to make more and more people have ‘darshan’ here,” Kejriwal told reporters.
