New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) The Delhi government's pilgrimage scheme for the elderly, which was halted in the first week of January in view of rising COVID-19 cases, resumed on Monday with a train carrying 1,000 pilgrims leaving for Dwarkadhish in Gujarat.

The train for Dwarkadhish was flagged off from the Safdarjung railway station at 7 PM on Monday. Another train for Rameshwaram will leave on February 18.

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"The train carrying pilgrims to Dwarkadhish under the Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna left today. I am happy that we are again able to send people on pilgrimage. It's my prayer to God that under the guidance of CM Arvind Kejriwal ji we keep sending Delhi's elderly on pilgrimage," tweeted Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.

The pilgrimage scheme was halted in January amid rise in cases of Covid. As a result of the disruption, a train of pilgrims scheduled to leave for Basilica of Our Lady of Health in Tamil Nadu's Vailankanni on January 7 was cancelled.

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According to officials, the maximum demand from the senior citizens was for Rameshwaram and Dwarkadhish. Around 15,000 applications for Rameshwaram and 7,000 for Dwarkadhish were pending.

Under the scheme, 11 train trips for different pilgrim sites were planned in January that could not materialise due to the third wave of Covid.

Under the scheme, people aged 60 years and above are sent on pilgrimage to 15 routes on trips fully sponsored by the Delhi government. The government pays for travel, accommodation and other expenses of each pilgrim who can also take along an attendant with them.

The scheme halted due to the second Covid wave last year was resumed with a train of pilgrims leaving for Ayodhya on December 3, 2020. Pilgrims also went to Rameshwaram and Dwarka before the pandemic applied brake on the scheme again.

Under the scheme, the Delhi government sanctioned Rs 81.45 crore, of which Rs 66.92 crore was spent in 2020-21.

Nearly 38,000 senior citizens have benefitted from the scheme so far, officials said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)