Sambalpur: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday flagged off a pilgrimage train with 970 senior citizens on board at a colourful function at Sambalpur railway station.
He wished the senior citizens a happy journey by lighting a lamp near a photograph of Goddess Samaleshwari, the presiding deity of the region.
The entire station wore a festive look as artistes performed traditional dance to the tunes of folk songs. This time the senior citizens would visit religious places of Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand as part of the state government-sponsored scheme.
The pilgrimage train is an initiative of the state tourism department under the Barishtha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana to help senior citizens make spiritual journey to places of religious importance. Over two thousand senior citizens have already visited places like Rameswaran, Madurai, Varanasi and Allahabad under the programme.
District collector Samarth Verma, ministers Ashok Chandra Panda, Snehangini Chhuria, MP Nagendra Pradhan, MLAs Ramesh Patua, Rohit Pujari, Raseshwari Panigrahi a host of senior administrative officials and politicians were present on the occasion.
Patnaik also unveiled a bus terminus in the town built at a cost of `14 lakh at Aainthpali and laid the foundation stones for a host of projects in Sambalpur, Rengali and Kuchinda.
A attending a women’s convention in Rengali and gathering in Kuchinda later in the day, Patnaik said his government is committed for the growth and welfare of the state while highlighting that Orissa has become a leading state in agriculture. The Chief Minister said his government will provide special drought assistance of `100 per quintal to farmers to tide over last year’s calamity. The amount will be directly deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiary farmers.
Besides, over 40,000 farmers in Sambalpur district will receive around `100 crore as crop insurance, Patnaik said. Reaffirming his government’s commitment to the poor, he said kendu leaf collectors will be provided 100 per cent bonus amounting `130 crore this year. This will benefit the families of 8,30,000 kendu leaf collectors.
This apart, the incentives for kendu leaf binders and casual workers has been raised from 10 to 20 per cent while financial assistance for death, treatment and daughter’s marriage has been equally raised.
Patnaik said banking services will be provided in panchayat offices to facilitate transactions in the non-banking regions. He also said his government has urged the Centre not to make PAN compulsory for farmers making financial transactions in cooperative societies. PNN