Thirty two senior citizens from Madhya Pradesh on Sunday left from Bhopal for Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on free pilgrimage by air under a scheme of the MP government.
This is the first time that beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Tirth-Darshan Yojana in MP are travelling by air, as per government officials.
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.
Featured Video Of The Day
Eknath Shinde Thanks 'Ladli Bahin, Ladle Kisan' For Maharashtra Mandate
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Praises Israel's "Technical Excellence" For Pager Attack Madhya Pradesh Tops In Stubble-Burning, Tribal Farmers Have A Solution Snake Found In Jabalpur-Bound Jan Shatabdi Express, Railways Starts Probe Election Results 2024 LIVE: With Thumping Win, Maharashtra Decides Real NCP, Sena Election Results: Rahul Says Will Analyse Maharashtra Results In Detail Jharkhand Election Results 2024 LIVE Updates: INDIA Bloc Wins 30 Seats Devendra Fadnavis Is PM Modi's Favourite, Says Mother Sarita Fadnavis Jammu And Kashmir Police Hiring For 669 Posts, Registration Begins On Dec 3 "America Going Bankrupt Super Fast": Elon Musk Offers Solution Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.