India, April 12 -- Jairam Waman Vaidya, a 71-year-old retired mill worker residing in Prabhadevi, has been avoiding the senior citizens' katta at Appasaheb Marathe Chowk for the past several weeks. Though a regular at meetings at the spot over the past few years, he is wary of facing his friends now, as they tease him about their supposed trip under the Mukhya Mantri Teerth Kshetra Darshan Yojana.

The scheme, under which senior citizens are taken on pilgrimage to a host of religious sites free of cost, was launched in June 2024, when Eknath Shinde was the chief minister.

"I had brought the scheme to the notice of my 24 senior citizen friends and convinced them to apply," Vaidya, a retired employee of Bombay Dyeing mills, told Hindustan ...