Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the government to reinstate the 50% concession previously offered to senior citizens by the Indian Railways.
Kejriwal emphasized that many elderly citizens had expressed their difficulties since the concession was discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Arvind Kejriwal pointed out that the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra scheme in Delhi, which provides travel, food, and lodging expenses for senior citizens, has brought incredible happiness to the elderly population.
The majority of these trips are conducted on trains. The Railways Minister had previously stated that the cost of granting concessions was burdensome for the Railways and had thus stopped the concession in 2020.
Kejriwal highlighted that the central government’s budget for the current year was around Rs. 45 lakh crore and the cost of the railway concession was a mere fraction of this amount.
He urged the government to consider the benefits of such a concession for the elderly population and reinstate it without delay.