its a welcoming initiative by any government. it could be free from a few obstacles like age criteria.
On 10/21/14, goutham agrawal <gtm.agra...@gmail.com> wrote: > Dear List members > > Happy Deepawali to all of you > > I am glad to inform you that the central government has launched a new > and unique scheme > > please enjoy the reading of below posted details of the scheme. > > with kind regards, > Gautam Agarwal > > > New Delhi, Oct. 20: Disabled senior citizens across the country may > soon have a chance to visit a pilgrimage centre of their choice at > government expense. > > The Union social justice and empowerment ministry is working on what > will be the first central government pilgrimage scheme to benefit the > disabled. The two largest existing pilgrimages funded and monitored by > the Centre -- Haj and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra -- bar the physically > or mentally challenged. > > The new scheme -- which will also be the first Centre-run pilgrimage to > offer the beneficiaries a choice from a list of destinations -- is > being modelled on Madhya Pradesh's Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana > (chief minister's pilgrimage scheme) for senior citizens. > > Launched in 2012, the Madhya Pradesh scheme states: "Followers of all > the religions and communities can undertake journey to any pilgrimage > centre of their choice (from the list)." > > "Disabled people above 60 can avail this (central scheme) benefit once > in their lifetime and the government will make it an all-expenses-paid > tour. We'll ensure the pilgrim has a comfortable stay. The logistics > are being worked out," a ministry official said. > > While the Madhya Pradesh scheme has been a success, with the state > claiming it benefits almost one lakh senior citizens every year, it > categorically keeps out people with any disabilities. > > "(The) pilgrim should be physically and mentally sound to undertake > (the) journey and should not be suffering from any communicable > disease like TB, difficulty in breathing, heart disease, leprosy, > etc," the scheme's eligibility criteria state. > > Ditto for the foreign ministry's Haj policy, which says: "Any Muslim > citizen of India can apply for Haj pilgrimage except persons suffering > from polio, tuberculosis, congestive cardiac & respiratory ailment, > acute coronary insufficiency, coronary thrombosis, mental disorder... > persons who are crippled, handicapped, lunatic or otherwise physically > incapacitated or suffering from amputation of legs." > > The Madhya Pradesh scheme has a list of 17 pilgrimage spots that is > likely to be adopted by the Centre, sources said. The places listed > are: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Puri (Jagannath temple), Dwarka, Haridwar, > Amarnath, Vaishno Devi, Varanasi, Tirupati, Ajmer Sharif, Gaya, > Shirdi, Rameswaram, Amritsar (Golden Temple), the Sammed Shikhar (Jain > pilgrimage spot) in Jharkhand, Shravanabelagola (Jain) in Karnataka > and the Velankanni Church in Nagapattinam. > > S.K. Rungta, general secretary of the National Federation of the > Blind, welcomed the move. "It is very expensive to hire private tour > operators for pilgrimages. The pilgrimages are tough on the body and > one needs facilities that would allow a disabled person to operate > under those conditions," Rungta said. > > Sources said the central scheme might allow the disabled pilgrim to > take an attendant along. Married beneficiaries' spouses could be > considered for the trip even if they are below 60. > > "It's a welcome beginning but such schemes should be open to all. > There is no age criterion for Haj, so why should there be any age > criterion in these schemes? The scheme should include (disabled > people) of all ages," Rungta said. > > Last year, the Chhattisgarh government opened its pilgrimage scheme to > all disabled people from the state who are above the age of 18. Its > list of destinations is similar to Madhya Pradesh's. This scheme, > therefore, most closely resembles the one the Centre is working on. > > Social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, a Rajya > Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, however, prefers to describe the > planned central scheme as one modelled on the Madhya Pradesh scheme > while being exclusively meant for the disabled, sources said. > > Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
