Rajasthan to fly 6,000 seniors free to Nepal, send 50,000 by train under Tirth Yatra Yojana 2026

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government’s Senior Citizen Tirth Yatra Yojana-2026 will soon open for online applications, with the state planning to send around 50,000 elderly residents on free train pilgrimages and another 6,000 on free air travel to the Pashupatinath temple in Nepal. Devasthan Minister Joraram Kumawat has directed department officials to make the necessary changes to the application portal and start accepting applications at the earliest.

The scheme is open to Rajasthan residents aged 60 years or above, with the state bearing the full cost of the journey. Train pilgrims will be able to choose three destinations at the time of application from a list that includes Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Sarnath, Mathura, Vrindavan, Dwarka, Somnath, Tirupati, Kamakhya, Gangasagar, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram, Vaishno Devi, Amritsar, Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Trimbakeshwar, Bihar Sharif, Patna Sahib and Nanded.

Air travellers selected for the Nepal leg will first be taken from Jaipur to Delhi by bus and then flown to Kathmandu for darshan at the Pashupatinath temple. The government will provide doctors, nursing staff, escorts and officials with each group, and every train coach will have dedicated staff for arrangements. Pilgrims will only have to bear the cost of reaching their designated railway station or airport.

Applicants will need to upload a medical fitness certificate issued by a government medical officer confirming that they are physically and mentally fit to undertake the journey, along with the names and mobile numbers of two emergency contacts. If applications exceed the available seats, selection will be done through a computerised district-level lottery, and the final list will be published on the District Collector office and Devasthan Department websites. The selected pilgrim alone can travel; substitution is not allowed.

Applicants may take their spouse or an attendant along. Pilgrims aged 70 or above are eligible to apply for an attendant aged between 21 and 50 years. Couples can travel together, but in such cases a separate attendant will not be provided.

To oversee the scheme, the government has constituted a seven-member monitoring committee chaired by Minister Joraram Kumawat. The other members are the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department; Additional Chief Secretary, Minority Affairs Department; Government Secretary, Devasthan Department; Government Secretary, Tourism Department; Principal Secretary, Medical and Health Department; and the Commissioner, Devasthan Department. The committee will monitor travel arrangements, security, health facilities and the overall conduct of the scheme.