BHUBANESWAR: As many as 775 senior citizens from six districts of the state embarked on a pilgrimage to Varanasi and Ayodhya on Wednesday under the sixth phase of the Mukhyamantri Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana for the current financial year.
Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan flagged off the special train from Bhubaneswar new railway station in the presence of officials from the Tourism department and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). Twenty-five officials accompanied the pilgrims to assist them during the journey.
The elderly pilgrims will visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple, attend the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi and seek the blessings of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya before returning to Odisha on November 2.
Wishing the pilgrims a safe and fulfilling journey, Harichandan said the initiative will enable them to visit prominent religious destinations and familiarise with the cultural and spiritual heritage of India. “The state government has made extensive arrangements to ensure their comfort and safety,” he added.
The pilgrims include 197 senior citizens from Cuttack, 169 from Khurda, 127 from Puri, 108 from Kendrapara, 89 from Dhenkanal and 85 from Jagatsinghpur district. Railway tickets and kit bags were symbolically handed over to the pilgrims.
Under the scheme, the state government plans to facilitate pilgrimage tours for 8,000 senior citizens in 10 phases during 2026-27. The destinations include Ayodhya, Varanasi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Rameswaram and Madurai. Around 4,000 senior citizens have already visited various pilgrimage destinations under the scheme this year.
Tourism secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia, director Dipankar Mohapatra and Khurda additional district magistrate Pratap Chandra Beura also attended the programme.