Kejriwal's pilgrimage scheme to get its first Christian site

After adding Ayodhya to the list of pilgrimage sites under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirtha Yatra Yojana', Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will soon include Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu, one of the most revered pilgrimages for Catholics in the country, under the scheme.

"Many of our Christian brothers had pointed out that none of their pilgrimage sites were included in the scheme. There is a good news for them that Velankanni Church will be added to the Mukhyamantri Tirtha Yatra Yojana (Chief Minister's Pilgrimage Scheme) soon," Kejriwal said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

On October 27, the Chief Minister had added Ayodhya to the scheme under which elderly people are provided travel by air conditioned trains and stay in good, air conditioned hotels free of cost.

"The first train to Ayodhya will start from December 3. Registrations for the same have opened. One youth can accompany an elderly person," he said, adding that there is no need to become stressed if one train gets booked, "we will start another train soon."

"Over 36,000 people have benefitted from the scheme, so far. Ayodhya has made it to the list of Mukhyamantri Tirth Kalyan Yojna in addition to other pilgrimage sites like Jagannath Puri, Ujjain, Shirdi, Amritsar, Jammu, Dwarka, Mathura, Tirupati, Rameshwaram, Haridwar and Bodh Gaya. We will also assist those who want to visit Ram Lalla in Ayodhya free of cost.

"I was fortunate that I got the chance to bow before Ram Lalla and I wish everyone gets this chance. Whatever capability I have, I will use that to make more and more people visit there," he said while making the announcement last month. -IANS