Bhubaneswar: Depu ty Chief Minister Pravati Parida virtually flagged off the first pilgrimage under the ‘Shree Jagannath Darshan Yojana’ for the financial year 2025-26 Sunday.
The initiative is being implemented jointly by the Tourism Department and Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC).
Parida virtually flagged off the pilgrimage of 910 senior citizens from Malkangiri (490), Koraput (210) and Nabarangpur (210) districts to Puri.
Addressing the gathering, the Parida said, “Facilitating the spiritual aspiration of every Odia to have darshan of Mahaprabhu Jagannath remains one of the key priorities of the state government.
Under the leadership of the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the initiative has created a sacred opportunity for senior citizens from across the state to visit Srikshetra and seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu.”
Under the first phase of the scheme, arrangements have been made for 10,434 pilgrims from 13 districts to visit Puri between September 20 and Oc tober 26, 2026.
To ensure the safety and well-being of the pilgrims, three escort officers and one paramedical staff member are being deployed in each bus.
They will accompany the pilgrims throughout the journey and monitor their health and other requirements.
The ‘Shree Jagannath Darshan Yojana’ aims to facilitate darshan of the Holy Trinity at Srimandir for 1 lakh senior citizens, while arrangements are being made for 30,000 eligible beneficiaries during the current year.
Under the scheme, pilgrims are facilitated with transportation from their respective gram panchayats to the district headquarters and thereafter to Puri by dedicated buses.
The package includes free health check-ups, four vegetarian meals a day, kit bags, identity cards and cultural programmes, besides arrangements for darshan at the Srimandir.
Tourism department Com missioner-cum-Secretary Bal want Singh, Director Dipankar Mahapatra, Additional Secretary Rudra Prasanna Sahu and OSRTC General Manager Debabrata Mallik were present at the programme.
Malkangiri MLA Narsingh Madkami, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khila and Koraput MLA Raghuram Machha, along with Collectors and administrative officials of the concerned districts, officials and OSRTC and Tourism department staff, and the participating pilgrims joined the programme virtually.