Raipur Marwad: If you are above 60 years of age, you can take advantage of a free pilgrimage. The Devasthan Department's Free Senior Citizen Pilgrimage Scheme 2024-25 is now open for new applications until September 19. This year, the department will provide free pilgrimage to 30,000 senior citizens to 15 religious places by train and 6,000 senior citizens to the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu by air.
The application process has started on the department's website. The special feature of this scheme is that senior citizens can choose three pilgrimage sites of their choice, but they will get a chance to visit only one place. Rajasthan residents above 60 years of age who are not income tax payers can apply for this scheme.
Previous Applicants Also Eligible
According to the information, applicants who had applied for the scheme in 2022 but could not go on the pilgrimage in 2023-24 will be eligible for this year's pilgrimage without needing to reapply. However, those who have already availed of the pilgrimage scheme earlier and those who were selected by lottery but did not go on the pilgrimage voluntarily will not be eligible for this scheme.
The rules and regulations of the scheme are available on the department's website, and applications can also be submitted through the website. The schedule of trains for the pilgrimage will be shared soon after the MoU is finalized.
Pilgrimage Sites Included in the Scheme
The pilgrimage sites included in the scheme are Rameshwaram-Madurai, Jagannathpuri, Tirupati, Dwarkapuri-Somnath, Vaishno Devi-Amritsar, Prayagraj-Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan-Barsana, Sammed Shikhar-Pawapuri-Baidyanath, Ujjain-Omkareshwar-Tryambakeshwar Jyotirlinga (Nasik), Gangasagar (Kolkata), Kamakhya (Guwahati), Haridwar-Rishikesh-Ayodhya, and others. Apart from this, applications can also be submitted for a pilgrimage to the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu by air.
Applications can be submitted on the Devasthan Department's website https://edevasthan.rajasthan.gov.in.