800 elders of Patan-Leuva Patel Samaj to visit Haridwar: Bhagwat Katha and Rishikesh Darshan in 7-day journey by Railways

The local Leuva Patidar Samaj of Patan has organised a Ganga pilgrimage at Haridwar for more than 800 elders of the community under the Vadil Vandana programme. The yatra will be held from March 21 to 27, in which the elders will drink the juice of Shrimad Bhagwat Katha. This rail journey is going to be a big social pilgrimage. All the pilgrims will leave for Haridwar on March 19 and 20 from Patan and Unjha stations in separate batches. Passengers will travel by Yoga Express from Unjha station and Gandhinagar - Daulatpur Chowk Express, while passengers will travel by Bhavnagar - Haridwar Express from Patan station. Facilities including snacks and food packets will be provided to the elderly passengers so that they do not face inconvenience in travelling. Each passenger will be given a religious dress and a special identity card, which will also contain the details of their arrival and departure trains. Srimad Bhagwat Katha is being organized at Prem Nagar Ashram in Haridwar from March 21, in which the speaker Shri Rajendra Prasad Shastriji will give the essence of the story. During this time, Bhagwat festivals like Govardhan Puja, Nand Utsav and Rukmini Vivah will also be held. During the entire journey, all the pilgrims will stay at Prem Nagar Ashram on the holy Ganga Ghat. Pilgrims will also be taken to Rishikesh Darshan during this period. After the completion of the Bhagwat Katha on March 27, the passengers will return as per the train arrangements. As part of the planning of the yatra, a pamphlet writing was organized at the residence of the chief host Mahendrabhai Jayantilal Patel. Thereafter, invitation cards will be sent to every household and guests of the community inviting them to participate in the Pothi Yatra and the pilgrimage. Two days before the yatra, a grand Pothi Pujan and Pothi Yatra have also been organized in Patan on March 18 so that the family members of the Pothi host who participated in the yatra can take advantage of the Pothi Pujan at Patan itself. The Pothi Yatra will start from Shrighelia Hanuman and return to its destination after circumambulating every part of the society, after which the pilgrims will prepare to proceed to Haridwar.