HR&CE dept launches spiritual tour to Arupadai Veedu

CHENNAI: Over 200 devotees of Lord Murugan set out on a spiritual tour to Arupadai Veedu on Sunday.

They are the first batch of the beneficiaries of the Tamil Nadu government's free spiritual tour for senior citizens, aged between 60 years and 70 years, to the six Murugan temples at Thiruparankundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Thiruthani and Pazhamudircholai.

Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) P K Sekarbabu flagged off buses, ferrying a total of 207 senior citizens, to the Murugan temples from Kandhakottam in Chennai. Before starting their spiritual tour, the minister distributed free tour kits containing 10 items, including shawl, towel, bedsheet, toothpaste and brush - to each of them.

A team of officials of the department accompany the devotees to look out their needs and accommodation during their spiritual tour and facilitate them to offer the prayers without any difficulties, while a medical team would travel along with the senior citizens to attend to the medical needs.

It would be difficult for a devotee to go on a spiritual tour to Arupadai Veedu on their own. It would cost at least Rs 50,000 per person. However, the department worked out the programme at Rs 15,830 per person, said the minister.

The Tamil Nadu government would extend financial support to the tune of Rs 1.58 crore to help 1,000 devotees to go on a spiritual tour to the six abodes of Lord Murugan at free of cost, the minister further said, adding, "It is one of the best designed programmes and it received an overwhelming response among devotees.

By the end of this year, a total of 1000 senior citizens will be taken to the Arupadai Vedu under this scheme."

On a similar spiritual tour to Ram temple in Ayodhya, the minister said that they are yet to receive any request for spiritual tour to Ayodhya Ram temple.

"Since the DMK government came to power, it has been giving importance to pilgrimage. The government has planned and designed several schemes to facilitate the devotees to take up pilgrimage to various temples, " he said and added that the government extended financial assistance to 500 devotees for the pilgrimage to Manasarovar temple in China, and equal number of devotees to Muktinath temple in Nepal.

The department had facilitated 200 devotees for the pilgrimage to Rameshwaram-Kasi and it would make it possible for 300 devotees to go on pilgrimage to Rameshwaram-Kasi this year. The government would allocate Rs 75 lakh towards this, he further said.