First train under Mukhyamantri Teerth-Darshan Yojna today
Bhopal : Train on the maiden journey under the Mukhyamantri Teerth-Darshan Yojna will leave for Rameshwaram today. Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former Prime Minister Shri Lal Krishna Advani will flag off the train at 5.30 pm on September 3. Culture Minister Shri Laxmikant Sharma took stock of preparations being made for the pilgrimage at Habibganj railway station on Sunday. The scheme will be launched on September 3 at Habibganj railway station. As many as 984 pilgrims above 60 years of age will go to Rameshwaram in the first pilgrimage under Mukhyamantri Teerth-Darshan Yojna. As many as 133 pilgrims from Rajgarh district, 126 from Vidisha, 204 from Bhopal, 113 from Sehore, 115 from Raisen, 136 from Betul, 49 from Harda and 107 pilgrims from Hoshangabad district will go on the maiden journey to Rameshwaram under Mukhyamantri Teerth-Darshan Yojna. The train will return to Bhopal in the night of September 8. During the return journey, it will also halt at Betul and Hoshangabad stations.
Teerth-Darshan Yojna
Senior citizens above 60 years of age, who are not income tax payers, can take benefit of the scheme launched on the initiative of Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. One person can visit a place of pilgrimage outside the state only once. Places of pilgrimages include Shri Badrinath, Shri Kedarnath, Shri Jagannath Puri, Shri Dwarkapuri, Haridwar, Amarnath, Vaishnodevi, Shirdi, Tirupati, Ajmer Sharif, Kashi (Varanasi), Gaya, Amritsar, Rameshwaram, Sammved-Shikhar, Shravan Belgola and Velangadi Church, Nagapattnam (Tamil Nadu). A person can avail benefit of the scheme only once in the lifetime.
The pilgrims have been selected by district collector. Entire responsibility of the journey will rest with IRCTC. Arrangements for pilgrims’ food, tea, snacks, lodging, conveyance to religious place and guide will also be made.
Next pilgrimage for Ajmer Sharif
The second pilgrimage under the scheme will be for Ajmer Sharif in which residents of only Bhopal, Narmadapuram and Ujjain divisions will participate. Concerning district collectors have started process to select pilgrims.
The Culture Minister was accompanied by Bhopal commissioner Shri Praveen Garg, Secretary Public Relations Shri Rakesh Shrivastava, Bhopal collector Shri Nikunj Shrivastava, other officers and senior Railway officers.
