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.
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