Spriitual travel start-up My Tirth India is shutting down operations due to a financial crunch.

According to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Indraneel Dasgupta, the company is struggling with a funding shortage after the unfortunate demise of its principal shareholder and mentor.

“But as things stand now, we are unable to proceed any further running with a skeletal staff who are working without pay, having no office and working out of our homes. We now have no choice but to stop operations as we have no funds to continue, this pain I will take with me till the day I die,” said Dasgupta.

Founded in 2018, the Mumbai-based company is a pilgrimage and darshan site offering a one-stop portal to travel around India’s religious destinations. In addition to offering tailored travel packages for devotees, it also provides a range of online services, such as online prasad and puja facilities, astrological and ayurvedic consultations, and funeral services.

According to statistics, the Indian travel industry accounts for 10 per cent of the country’s GDP, and of this vast market, 65-70 per cent is spiritual tourism.

My Tirth India raised ₹8 crore with a vision of offering all forms of spiritual travel, including India’s first spiritual membership programme for travellers and showrooms across the country.

It joins the growing list of start-ups that have shut shop in the recent times, including Insurtech start-up Kenko Health, upskilling and job-finding platform Bluelearn, homegrown social media app Koo, artificial intelligence-led software start-up Nintee, and Accel and Alpha Wave-backed fashion start-up Fashinza.

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