Social Welfare Minister Ramshila Sahu on Wednesday flagged off a batch of over 800 elderly pilgrims at the Raipur railway station who left for Haridwar and Rishikesh.
The batch of pilgrims was facilitated by the State Government under the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana, a scheme the Government launched last year exactly same day on January 15. Of the 800 people who went on pilgrimage, 356 belonged to Kondagaon, 418 belonged to North Bastar district (Kanker) and 57 belonged to Narayanpur area.
The State Government has already facilitated the trip of more than 63,000 people since the scheme was launched. The minister offered prayers to the god and wished the wellbeing of the latest batch of the pilgrims. The Government has been facilitating the free cost of visits of the senior citizen those are 60 years of age and above to various religious places in the country because they cannot afford it of their own even though it remained as their life time dreams. The State shortlist the names taking help of the local government machineries.