No trains to ferry pilgrims, Punjab CM's Teerath scheme goes off-track

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, December 13

The much-touted Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra scheme is in a limbo with the Railways expressing its inability to provide trains for carrying pilgrims to far-off places, for the time being.

Started just a fortnight ago after the government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the authorities now find themselves in a fix as they have not been able to get a train requisitioned for ferrying passengers twice in a row. The only train that the state government got was on November 27 — the day of the launch for taking pilgrims from Amritsar, Jalandhar and Dhuri to Nanded Sahib.

The government had signed an MoU with IRCTC in November for getting 13 trains to ferry passengers to places of worship in other states till March 31 next year. A sum of Rs 1.34 crore was also deposited by the government as fare for the special trains.

Inspite of the repeated attempts to contact the CRM, IRCTC, Ajit Sinha, he did not respond to calls. The CPRO, Railways, Deepak Kumar, initially said he would revert on the querry, but later did not respond to the calls.

A train, scheduled to carry pilgrims from Jalandhar to Varanasi on December 6, was first cancelled and the government was informed of it on December 4. A second train, scheduled to ferry pilgrims from Malerkotla to Ajmer Sharif on December 15, was cancelled today with the government being informed today.

A senior officer in the Transport Department said they had received a call, saying that there was a shortage of trains and generator cars for running trains till February as most trains were being run for transportation of coal.

“We have written a DO letter to the MD, IRCTC, and the Chairman of Railway Board, requesting them to ensure that the trains are provided. A DO letter was also written by the Secretary, Transport, yesterday,” said Chief Secretary Anurag Verma.

Though the pilgrimage to the far-off places cannot be continued without trains, the government has increased the number of buses to ferry pilgrims to the three Takhts – Damdama Sahib, Kesgarh Sahib and Akal Takht — besides other places of worship in nearby areas.

“From four buses per day planned initially, we have decided to run 10 buses per day now, under the scheme,” said CS Verma.

Govt had inked MoU with IRCTC

Started just a fortnight ago after the government had signed an MoU with the IRCTC, the authorities now find themselves in a fix as they have not been able to get a train for ferrying passengers twice in a row. The only train that the state government got was on November 27 — the day of the launch for taking pilgrims from Amritsar, Jalandhar and Dhuri to Nanded Sahib.

Rs 40 crore allocated for scheme

• The Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra Scheme was launched by the government on November 27. The government has set aside Rs 40 crore for the scheme. Only one train carrying 1,000 pilgrims had been pressed into service on the day the scheme was launched
• While 13 trains, each carrying 1,000 pilgrims, were to be requisitioned till March 31 every day, four buses take pilgrims to places of worship within the state and in adjoining states