After neighbouring Uttar Pradesh rolled out an all-cost-paid pilgrimage trip for senior citizens of the state, the hill state of Uttarakhand has also launched a similar exercise.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Monday flagged off three buses carrying 90 elderly people on a pilgrimage of 'Chaar Dhaam' - Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The initiative is titled 'Mere Buzurg, Mere Teerth'.
One bus with 30 people left for Gangotri and two buses carrying 64 people left for Badrinath.
This year, 20,000-25,000 elderly people would benefit under this scheme, an official told IANS.
Rawat said that compared to other states, inter-district tourism in Uttarakhand was much less and this scheme was an attempt to give an impetus to this.
The scheme will be run round-the-year and religious places like Piran Kaliyar, Nanakmatta, Jageshwar, Chhota Kailash and Madmaheshwar would be included in the scheme destinations.