Bengaluru, July 14 (UNI) Karnataka Chief Minis- ter Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday launched the Kashi Yatra scheme by distributing Rs 5,000 sub- sidy cheques to pilgrims. “Today we are distrib- uting Rs 5,000 subsidy cheques for 10 pilgrims. In coming days it would be transferred directly to the pilgrims’ accounts via DBT system,” he said at an event held at Vidhana Soudha here.
The pilgrims will board the ‘Bharat Gaurav Train’ which will make a seven-day journey covering 4,161 km. The coaches of the train are being converted into a temple for the people to offer prayers. Food, water, accommodation and local transport facilities near the pilgrim centres will be provided by the IRCTC.
The journey costs Rs 15,000, out of which the state government gives a subsidy of Rs 5,000.
Eulogizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bommai said, “The banks of river Ganga have been cleaned and about 23 Ghats renovated. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor has been developed in such a way that the pilgrims could walk directly from the Ganga Ghats to the Vishwanath temple. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this good work.”
There is a huge rise in the number of pilgrims visiting Kashi after Modi renovated Kashi and Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, he said.
“Kashi is a major pilgrimage centre evoking the spiritual faith of the people. The facilities and amenities for pilgrims were very poor earlier. Now it has been totally transformed. Varanasi has direct air, rail and bus connectivity. As a result there is a huge rise in the number of pilgrims visiting Kashi,” he stated.
Apart from distributing Rs 5,000 cheques, Bommai said the state government has also made arrangements for safe and comfortable journeys by separate train, and accommodation facilities at Kashi to make the pilgrimage a safe and pleasant experience.
