Patna: The tourism department will start a Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana in Bihar in which around 3,000 people would be given free tour and travel packages.

The project is in association with the Indian Railways and it would be facilitated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC). It would be a seven-day package and MLAs will send the name of the pilgrims from their respective Assembly constituencies.

"We have received the proposal from IRCTC and we will go ahead with the proposal on the name of Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana. We have decided to provide a good opportunity to the pilgrims by offering them free package in which they would travel to Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Somnath and Dwarka," tourism minister Pramod Kumar said.

Pramod also stressed that the tour package will also include Sufi places like Ajmer Sharif and Fatehpur Sikri.

Pramod said: "We will send 1,000 Muslims and 2,000 Hindu pilgrims to the tour. The proposal is under consideration and soon it will get a final approval. We are thinking of at least one trip this year. It would be a boon for the people who cannot afford to visit religious places."

Pramod pointed out that most probably the yojana would be officially launched in Bihar by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Gandhi Jayanti.

IRCTC Patna zone regional manager Rajesh Kumar said IRCTC has already tied up with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand and now it has sent the proposal to the Bihar government.

"IRCTC conducts pilgrimage tours to promote awareness about art, craft, people and culture of India through tourism. Our expertise and experience in the field of tourism and hospitality for the past 10 years with qualified manpower assures the best services. We have given the proposal to have a strategic tie-up with the tourism department, Bihar, regarding pilgrimage tours for the people of Bihar," Rajesh said.