New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to resume concessions which were earlier given to senior citizens regarding rail travel.
In a letter, he wrote, "The elderly were getting up to 50 per cent discount in rail travel for many years. Crores of elderly people were getting its benefit. It's unfortunate to end this discount." He said the government in the Lok Sabha informed that by closing the exemption given to the elderly in rail travel, Rs 1600 crore are being saved annually.
Referring to the Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme, the CM said, "If the Delhi government spends 50 crores on the pilgrimage of the elderly out of the budget of 70,000 crores. In the coming year, the central government will spend Rs 45 lakh crore, of which Rs 1600 crore is spent on concession in rail travel for the elderly."
The centre had discontinued the concession during the Covid-19 pandemic, these concessions were halted in the name of safety and prevention, with the implicit belief that they would resume after the pandemic abated and the country opened up again, Kejriwal added.
CM Kejriwal said that this small concession given in train travel to the senior citizens matters a lot to them. "I talked to many elders. This small concession being given in train travel matters a lot too. Therefore, I request you to show sensitivity towards the elderly. By showing this, try to restore this concession as soon as possible," the letter read. (ANI)
