India News | Senior Citizens Leave for Prayagraj by Air on Free Pilgrimage Under MP Govt Scheme

Bhopal, May 21 (PTI) Thirty two senior citizens from Madhya Pradesh on Sunday left from here for Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on free pilgrimage by air under a scheme of the MP government.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Jacket Goes Viral: Indian Prime Minister Wears Jacket Made of Recycled Material at G7 Summit in Japan, Promotes Sustainability (View Pic).

This is the first time that beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Tirth-Darshan Yojana in MP are travelling by air, as per government officials.

Also Read | Joe Biden Seeks Autograph of PM Narendra Modi: US President Asked Indian Prime Minister for His Autograph at Quad Meeting in Hiroshima, Here’s Why.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reached Bhopal's Raja Bhoj Airport in the morning to greet the 32 senior citizens, comprising 24 men and eight women.

The scheme was launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime in 2012 and senior citizens were being sent for pilgrimage free of cost by special trains.

Chouhan recently announced that air travel facility will also be included in this scheme.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state to provide the air travel facility to senior citizens for pilgrimage, government officials said.

So far, 7.82 lakh senior citizens have availed the benefit of the pilgrimage scheme, they said.

Under the first phase of the air travel facility, senior citizens from MP will travel by air in different batches till July this year from various airports of the state, the 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)