Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das flagged-off a pilgrimage train at Bokaro Steel City Station, carrying elderly people of North Chhotanagpur division from BPl families to Puri and Konark under the ‘Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yozana’ on Thursday evening.
Speaking on the occasion CM said our government is committed to the poor. “An individual aged 60 years and above from the below poverty line is eligible to travel in the special train twice in his or her life span on government expense.
A member of each elderly pilgrim's family was allowed to travel for tendering the elderly”, he added.
At least 1000 pilgrims from Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih, Ramghar, Chatra and Koderma were departed for the religious journey in 15 sleeper class coaches; will visit Konark, Jagannathpur, Surya and lingaraja temples under this government scheme with the assistance of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and returned back to Bokaro. Facilities of a doctor, special officer as well as water and meal are available during the journey, said an official.
The state government approved this scheme on 30 August this year aiming to provide tirha yatra to the elderly people of the state who cannot go themselves due to their financial problems, said an official.