The first batch of 46 pilgrims to the Holy Land took off for a 9-day trip from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Thursday, Shamshabad.
According to Yerusalem Yathra Ministries Honorary Director R Kishore Babu, the pilgrims will visit Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt.
Kishore Babu stated that the Jerusalem Yathra Ministries arranged the tour at a subsidized rate of Rs. 55,000 so that poor Christians could undertake the pilgrimage tour. He revealed that commercial tour operators charge as much as Rs. 70,000 for the tour.
Kishore Babu added that the Yerusalem Yathra Ministries was presently in negotiation with the Tourism Department of Israel to reduce the cost so as to offer the package at Rs. 50,000 for the next batches.
The Honorary Director also added that the organization also arranged loan facilities for the pilgrims who could not afford to pay the tour charges.
In another scheme, the indenting participant could pay in advance Rs. 5000 per month for 10 months and then join the tour, Kishore Babu revealed.
The Honorary Director added that the next batch of pilgrims would leave for the pilgrimage on January 5th, 2011.