Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai officially launched the 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana' on Thursday, a government initiative aimed at providing free travel for eligible beneficiaries to pilgrimage sites outside the state.
As part of the scheme’s inauguration, the Chief Minister flagged off the first special pilgrimage train from Raipur railway station, which will take 780 devotees from Raipur and Balodabazar-Bhatapara districts to revered sites in Tirupati, Madurai, and Rameswaram.
Sai emphasized that the government has allocated Rs 15 crore in the Budget to ensure the smooth implementation of the scheme. He highlighted that many elderly citizens are unable to fulfill their desire to undertake religious pilgrimages due to financial constraints, and this initiative aims to make their aspirations a reality.
Besides senior citizens aged 60 years and above, widows and abandoned women will also be eligible beneficiaries under the program.
The Chief Minister also provided updates on another religious travel scheme, the 'Mukhyamantri Ramlala (Ayodhya Darshan) Yojana,' under which more than 22,000 devotees have visited the Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya so far.
Furthermore, Sai mentioned that a significant number of Chhattisgarh residents participated in the recent Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. To facilitate their visit, the state government had set up a dedicated Chhattisgarh Pavilion at the event venue to cater to their needs.
State Social Welfare Minister Laxmi Rajwade outlined that the Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana will cover pilgrimages to 19 major religious sites across India, including Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Puri, Haridwar, Kashi, Shirdi, Vaishno Devi, Amritsar, Dwarka, Bodhgaya, Kamakhya Temple, and Sabarimala, among others.
Rajwade also noted that the pilgrimage scheme was originally introduced in 2012 under the leadership of former Chief Minister Raman Singh during the BJP government’s tenure. Between 2012 and 2019, approximately 2.47 lakh beneficiaries availed of the scheme.
However, she pointed out that the initiative was discontinued for five years under the previous Congress-led government before being revived by the current administration.
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