UP govt to launch first train for Hindu pilgrims

The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh will launch the first train carrying Hindus on an officially sponsored free pilgrimage to Haridwar and Rishilesh on March 14.

“This is the first scheme of its kind in the state. About 1,000 poor people would benefit from it,” UP principal secretary (information & chartable trusts) Navneet Sehgal said on Tuesday.

He said, “We have given a go ahead to all names received from different districts across the state and they will be taken on a special train hired by the state government, which has made all arrangement for their travel as well as stay in both Haridwar and Rishikesh from where they will be again brought back to Lucknow.”

The train is proposed to be flagged off by the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on the afternoon of March 14.

It would be accompanied by a team of doctors and paramedical staff, together with a small contingent of government officials to assist the pilgrims.

“Every elderly pilgrim is allowed one attendant,” Sehgal said.

All invitees have been asked to assemble at the Ravindralaya auditorium complex on the morning of March 14, opposite the Lucknow railway station, where arrangements will have been made for their reception to be followed by lunch after which they would board the special train to Haridwar.

According to Sehgal, “A 1,000 persons have been selected for the inaugural round but the number could be increased in years to come.”

Replying to questions, he said, “The state government would be spending a sum of about Rs 65 lakhs on the entire trip.”

While the official machinery declined to make any comment, the move is seen as a master-stroke to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s oft repeated outcry against official Haj subsidy for Muslims.