Bhubaneswar, Sept 24: Under the Government’s “Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojona”, the second phase of the pilgrimage programme for senior citizens was flagged off by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday.
In the programme, around 1000 senior citizens of ten districts of Odisha left for Allahabad and Baranasi by a special train yesterday.
During the flag off ceremony, Ashok Panda, Culture and Tourism Minister, MP Prassana Patsani, MLA Bijaya Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra were also present.
It may be noted that, the first pilgrimage programme for senior citizens was launched by the CM in Berhampur on July 25, where the special train from Rameswaram and Madurai carried around 977 senior citizens belonging to ten districts of southern Odisha.
For the pilgrimage tour programme, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) and Indian Railway Catering Corporation (IRCTC) have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Under this programme, the senior citizen will get free food and lodging for their journey. Nodal officers, doctors and nurses have also been appointed by the government to look after them during their travel.
