MARGAO, May 7 -- Despite Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao appealing to Catholics to forgo their pilgrimage to Vailankanni to avoid missing out on voting in the Lok Sabha polls, hundreds of pilgrims boarded the weekly train to the Marian Shrine on the eve of polling.

Monday morning saw Catholic pilgrims boarding the weekly train to Vailankanni at Vasco and Margao railway stations. However, these pilgrims justified their journey by explaining that they had booked their tickets prior to the announcement of the elections.

According to Baban Ghatge, a senior official from the Konkan Railway, over a thousand passengers boarded the train, but could not confirm if all these pilgrims were heading to Vailankanni.

Ghatge c...