Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch his government's first and fully-funded religious pilgrimage on July 12 by flagging off a train ferrying 1,000 pilgrims for the Delhi-Amritsar-Wagah Border-Anandpur Sahib tour circuit, Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Wednesday.
The religious pilgrimage will be launched from the Safdarjung Railway station under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana', he said.
Gehlot said there are five corridors selected under the scheme so far -- Delhi-Mathura-Vrindavan-Agra-Fatehpur Sikri, Delhi-Haridwar-Rishikesh-Neelkanth, Delhi -Ajmer-Pushkar, Delhi-Amritsar-Wagah Border-Anandpur Sahib and Delhi-Vaishno Devi-Jammu.
The second tour on the Delhi-Vaishno Devi-Jammu corridor, will be from July 20 to 24, he said.
"Under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra scheme', the government will bear the entire expenditure for all 'yatris', including air conditioned train travel, accommodation, meals, boarding and lodging and other arrangements.
"One attendant above the age of 21 years can accompany each 'yatri'," he told reporters here.
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He said the chief minister will meet all pilgrims on Thursday at the Delhi Secretariat.
"He (Kejriwal) will meet the 'yatris' and take their suggestions and views on this scheme. The scheme is an opportunity for senior citizens in the city who have not yet got an opportunity to go on a religious pilgrimage," Gahlot said.
Talking about the scheme, he said that it is a one time opportunity and only one person can avail.
"The government is also planning to expand the scheme. It has received requests for Tirupati Balaji, Rameshwaram and Shirdi. A cabinet decision may be taken in the future to expand this scheme," Gahlot added.