The Hindu Religious Charitable Endowments Department plans to take devotees from Tamil Nadu on a pilgrimage from Rameswaram to Varanasi and back, for a 10-day free spiritual journey by train. 600 tickets are up for grabs for the financial year ending March 2026.
“They (selected pilgrims) will take a holy dip in Rameswaram and have darshan of Swami, then go to Kashi and have darshan there and be dropped off again in Rameswaram,” an HR&C official told Dinamalar, a Tamil daily.
Interested pilgrims can download the application form from the website, or pick it up from the office of the respective regional office of the HR&C.
The completed application should be submitted to the office by October 22.
Eligibility:
The applicant must be a Hindu between the ages of 60 and 70 with an annual income of ₹2 lakh or less.
Applicants must submit proof of income, age, and medical condition.
Required documents include Aadhaar Card, PAN card, mobile number, and passport-sized photos.
The applicants must not have availed the government-sponsored free spiritual journey earlier.
The free train offer for pilgrims is the latest in a series of announcements made by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) goverment led by Chief Minister MK Stalin to beat the anti-incumbency and the challenge from new rivals like the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam led by actor-turned-politician Vijay.
You can read more about the recent announcements here.
On August 22, Stalin participated in the launch of 17 new projects by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department, with a total outlay of ₹124.97 crore.
The new projects include the construction of devotees’ waiting areas, lodges, conference halls, and parking facilities at prominent temples such as the Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple (Tiruvannamalai) and the Arulmigu Nachiyar Temple (Srivilliputhur). The CM inaugurated 14 completed projects across 11 temples, worth ₹51.19 crore.
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