PANAJI
The Goa government has re-launched the “Mukhyamantri Dev Darshan Yatra Yojana” scheme, however it does not include the promised free pilgrimage to Ayodhya for Ram Lalla Darshan.
“Pilgrimages to other destinations such as Tirupati, and Shirdi will follow but the Ayodhya tour is not planned as for now as it is a long tour. The government will think of the inclusion of Ayodhya as the destination in future,” Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai said.
The government has allocated Rs 10 crore for the scheme in this year’s budget.
Around 1,000 people from Goa are set to go on a pilgrimage tour by train to Valankani on March 12 under the scheme.
The minister has advised people with health ailments to refrain from going to the tours while adding that a doctor or nurse, a police constable and one volunteer caretaker will accompany the groups.
The scheme, which received a huge response from the citizens, was launched in November 2022 but was stopped in March 2023, after the budget allocated for the same for the last fiscal exhausted. The department then proposed to resume the scheme in January, this year; however, the proposal was held back by the Chief Minister’s Office, which had plans to include Ayodhya.
Currently, the scheme offers free pilgrimage to holy places, including Shirdi (Maharashtra), Valankani (Tamil Nadu) and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh).
According to the information, so far 11,980 people have taken the benefit of the State-sponsored scheme. Under the scheme, introduced as an election promise, the applicant has to submit a declaration on his or her mental and physical fitness and that he or she is not suffering from any serious ailment, communicable disease or mental disease.
