At a gathering that blended devotion with governance, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann attended the 'Ikk Shaam Bhagwan Shiv De Naam' ('An Evening in the Name of Lord Shiva') event in Mohali on Thursday, 30 July 2026 — and left the congregation with a concrete announcement: new subsidised pilgrimage buses rolling out from 1 August.

Four sacred destinations, one departure date

Mann announced that the Punjab government's Tirth Yatra (pilgrimage) scheme will expand to cover four new routes: Khatu Shyam and Salasar in Rajasthan, and Vrindavan and Rishikesh in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand respectively. The buses are framed explicitly as a gesture toward the state's elderly — 'buzurgaan di shraddha te bhavnaawan' ('the faith and sentiments of elders') — who form the core of pilgrimage travel in the region.

Speaking at the event, Mann said Punjab's collective spirit is 'ikk khoobsurat guldaste vang' — like a beautiful bouquet — where 'love and solidarity grow, not hatred.' The religious setting gave the welfare announcement a distinctly community-first framing, linking spiritual access to the state's pluralist identity.

Where the pilgrimage scheme fits Punjab's welfare stack

The Tirth Yatra bus expansion sits alongside two other flagship benefits Mann cited from the same stage: free electricity up to 300 units per household, introduced after the Aam Aadmi Party swept to power in 2022, and the Mawan-Dhiyan Satikar Yojana — a scheme providing financial support and dignity to women beneficiaries across the state. Together, Mann argued, they represent a government spending public tax money directly on the public: 'Your government is spending your tax money on you.'

Punjab has a long tradition of state-facilitated pilgrimage access, reflecting its layered spiritual heritage of Sikh shrines, Hindu temples, and Sufi dargahs. The AAP administration has consistently leaned into this pluralism as both social policy and political messaging since taking office.

What the 1 August rollout means for pilgrims

The immediate test will be passenger uptake. Khatu Shyam, a major Vaishnavite shrine in Rajasthan's Sikar district, draws millions of devotees annually; Salasar Balaji, also in Rajasthan, is similarly high-footfall. Adding Vrindavan and Rishikesh broadens the scheme's spiritual geography considerably, spanning four states and multiple faith traditions within Hinduism. Whether the buses run on a fixed schedule, a booking system, or a first-come basis will determine how effectively the elderly demographic Mann invoked can actually use them.

Mann closed with 'Har Har Mahadev' — a salutation to Lord Shiva — underlining that the evening was as much devotional as it was political. The kicker for Punjab's pilgrims: the buses leave in two days.