Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma launched the first pilgrimage special train from Jaipur to Madurai and Rameswaram at Durgapura Railway Station on Monday. The train will board pilgrims to the holy sites of Rameshwaram and Madurai. The CM while addressing the public expressed the importance of pilgrimage in a person’s life and described them as a representation of our cultural heritage.
Conserving cultural heritage
During his speech, Sharma mentioned the historical attacks on India’s cultural and religious heritage and highlighted that many such sites have been destroyed by the invaders. However, he complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts in protecting and developing these cultural centres. By taking inspiration from PM Modi’s initiatives, the Rajasthan government is concentrating on developing faith centres and planning pilgrimage trips, especially for senior citizens. The Rajasthan CM expressed his satisfaction with the Senior Citizen Tirth Yatra Yojana, where people will be able to go for spiritual tours that they were not able to go to because of financial or other obstacles.
All about the pilgrimage tour
The government has organized a pilgrimage tour to Ayodhya for around 3,000 devotees to visit the Shri Ram Temple earlier this year. Sharma further explained that under the same scheme, a total of 36,000 pilgrims will participate in upcoming tours in 2024. Around 15,000 will travel to Ayodhya and another 15,000 will embark for other religious places. Moreover, 6,000 pilgrims will be sent off to Nepal to visit Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. All the expenses related to accommodation, transportation, and food which are expected to cost around Rs 80 crore will be borne by the state government.
Meanwhile, the Devasthan Minister Joraram Kumawat also commented at the event, highlighting the government’s commitment to preserving and enhancing religious and cultural heritage. He also stated that a provision for the development of major religious and pilgrimage sites was also announced in the state budget. An allocation of Rs 13 crore has been sanctioned for decorating 600 temples in the states during the festival.
(With PTI inputs)