New Delhi: The surge in Covid-19 infection has placed the brakes in Mukhya Mansi Tirth Mukhya Mukhya Yatra Yojna where the elderly was brought to various religious locations, with the train scheduled to go to Velankani Church on Friday, on Friday it was canceled, officials said.
Eleven train trips planned in January have been affected due to a pandemic.
The train to Velankani on January 7 stood was canceled, said Kamal Bansal, Chair of Tirth Yatra Vikas Samiti.
“Furthermore, the pilgrimage train, including the route Kartarpur Sahib and Amritsar, Ayodhya and Rameshwaram later this month, have also been canceled,” Bansal said.
“The decision to suspend the scheme for now has been taken because of the increasing number of Covids across the country.
This will be back again when the condition is suitable,” said a senior Delhi government officer.
Under Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna, 60-year-old people were sent to pilgrimage at 15 full-sponsored routes by the Delhi government.
The government pays for travel, accommodation and other costs of any pilgrims who can also take an officer with them.
The scheme was stopped because of the second wave of Covid-19 years ago, followed by a pilgrimage train that left for Ayodhya on 3.
Pilgrims also went to Rameshwaram and Dwarka before the pandemic acted as a brake in the scheme.
The scheme launched in July 2019 has become a “big hit” among senior citizens Delhi, especially women, who are evident from around 25,000 applications that are delayed underneath, Bansal said.
To remove applicant backlogs, 11 trains each for different pilgrimage places is planned in January, February and March.
However, now the whole plan is disturbed, he said.
Under the scheme, the Delhi government approved the RS 81.45 Crore where RS 66.92 Crore was spent at 2020-21.
So far nearly 38,000 senior citizens who benefited from the scheme, the government told Delhi’s assembly session.
Applicants under the scheme need a certificate of residence from their MLA concerned.
There is no closing revenue of applicants under the scheme.