State govt sends 30 elderly people on pilgrimage by air
JAIPUR:Nathulal Gupta (72) had a spring in his steps as he walked into the Jaipur airport terminal building to board an aircraft that would take him for a two-day trip to Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Gupta was part of a 30-member contingent of senior citizens above 70 years who were selected through a lottery system for a flight to Tirupati Balaji under Pandit Deendayal Uyadhayay Dharmik Teerath Yatra Yojana.
The entire trip, including lodging and boarding, has been sponsored by the Rajasthan government.
All the members were also given a kit by the state government that includes a toilet kit and a booklet on the pilgrimage.
“This is first time I am taking a flight and so I am very excited. I feel lucky to have made it to the final list through the lottery,” he told Hindustan Times.
Angoori Devi (78) is one of the 10 women in the contingent.
“It’s a dream come true for me as I never expected that I would travel by air one day and that too to Tirupati Bajali,” she said.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje felicitated the group before they boarded the plane at a function held at the airport on Tuesday.
A total of 706 senior citizens have been selected for four different pilgrimages–Tirupati Balaji, Rameswaram, Jagganathpuri and Sammed Shikhar.
This is in addition to the pilgrims who have travelled by trains under another scheme of the government. “I am told that 28 out of 30 members of this team have not travelled by air before.
“I hope that along with them, the spiritual benefits from the trip will come to the entire state,” she said.
A representative of the state government is accompanying the group.
The tour has been organized by city-based Syed Tours and Travels that won the bid through a tender process of the state government held in 2016.