I am surprised that journalists are unable to differentiate between outbound and inbound pilgrimages. And domestic and international inbound pilgrims.
Subsidising outbound pilgrimages is a patently bad idea. Haj subsidy is gone, others should go to. Let folks crowdfund their own trips.
Underfunded inbound pilgrimages are nothing but disasters waiting to happen. Anyway we Indians get crushed to death wherever we go - railway footbridges being the most recent example. Not a season goes by without a stampede at a temple or festival. When millions upon millions descend upon Kashi, to take a dip at one place at one time, there isn't much that the local administration can do other than spend gobs of money and prepare for this congregation.
Deadly stampedes make the headlines. But hygiene, transport, medical facilities, security, guidance, food and drink, fire safety, and a zillion other things are required when a bunch of folks troop in and troop out like they do in pilgrimages.
These are Indian citizens traveling to a part of India. What are you going to do to stop them? Impose 144? But they're not gathering to create a menace. They're gathering with the purest of intentions (my atheist ass insists they are misguided, but that is besides the point here).
When Indian pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, SA dictates all kinds of terms. Earlier Indians used to travel by ship. That was changed to flights only. Now ships are going to be allowed again (which is why the subsidy is going). They can treat foreigners the way they want. They can even throttle entry.
If Indians were only visiting temples like Tirumala, and donating gobs of money, then the temple could be told to spend on the pilgrims. But we seem to show up at all kinds of nature spots - the confluence of rivers, a hill, a cave with an ice stalagmite. You can't just start charging everyone ₹1,000 to show up within a 10 mile radius of sangam. Look at them - some of them are stark naked, many of them are half naked.
It's gonna cost crores of rupees to just clean up after them. If you don't want the administration to pay for that, do tell, who else will?
Subsidising outbound pilgrimages is a patently bad idea. Haj subsidy is gone, others should go to. Let folks crowdfund their own trips.
Underfunded inbound pilgrimages are nothing but disasters waiting to happen. Anyway we Indians get crushed to death wherever we go - railway footbridges being the most recent example. Not a season goes by without a stampede at a temple or festival. When millions upon millions descend upon Kashi, to take a dip at one place at one time, there isn't much that the local administration can do other than spend gobs of money and prepare for this congregation.
Deadly stampedes make the headlines. But hygiene, transport, medical facilities, security, guidance, food and drink, fire safety, and a zillion other things are required when a bunch of folks troop in and troop out like they do in pilgrimages.
These are Indian citizens traveling to a part of India. What are you going to do to stop them? Impose 144? But they're not gathering to create a menace. They're gathering with the purest of intentions (my atheist ass insists they are misguided, but that is besides the point here).
When Indian pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, SA dictates all kinds of terms. Earlier Indians used to travel by ship. That was changed to flights only. Now ships are going to be allowed again (which is why the subsidy is going). They can treat foreigners the way they want. They can even throttle entry.
If Indians were only visiting temples like Tirumala, and donating gobs of money, then the temple could be told to spend on the pilgrims. But we seem to show up at all kinds of nature spots - the confluence of rivers, a hill, a cave with an ice stalagmite. You can't just start charging everyone ₹1,000 to show up within a 10 mile radius of sangam. Look at them - some of them are stark naked, many of them are half naked.
It's gonna cost crores of rupees to just clean up after them. If you don't want the administration to pay for that, do tell, who else will?