Free Pilgrimage Scheme For Elderly Hindus Scrapped By Uttar Pradesh Govt

Shravan Yatra, a scheme in Uttar Pradesh, under which the elderly could undertake pilgrimage free of cost, has been scrapped by the current Yogi Adityanath government. Shravan Yatra was started by UP govt led by the Samajwadi Party in 2015.

After a question was raised in the assembly, Minister for Religious Affairs for UP, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said that there were no plans of reviving the scheme anytime soon.

Amidst the allegations of Muslim appeasement by the BJP, the scheme was launched in March 2015 by the Akhilesh Yadav government as “Samajwadi Shravan Yatra”.

The name of the scheme was inspired by the mythological character Shravan Kumar, who carried his blind parents on his shoulders. Under this schemes, the elderly could travel free of cost. The lodging expenses were also taken care of by the government.

This year’s trips were organized for Somnath, Dwarka, Madurai, Puri, and Konark. Six trains were scheduled but IRCTC canceled the trips as they did not receive the fund from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Although, 14 crores were allotted to them.

The Logical Indian appreciates the move as subsidies based on religious ground should not be given to people. It does not matter which religion one belongs from. A state’s expenditure should be more on health and education than taking care of people’s religious sentiments.

Also Read:

Know About The Many Religious Subsidies Provided By Govt. & Why They Have No Place In A Secular Country