Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off a special train on Friday from Berhampur to Velankanni and Thanjavur in Tamil under Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana.
He wished the passengers a happy and safe journey through video conferencing at the State Secretariat here in the presence of Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda.
The senior citizens also thanked the Odisha Government for this step and praised the scheme.
Notably, the Yojana was started in July 2016. Till now, 10,000 senior citizens from Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Balasore and Titilagarh have travelled to different destinations, including Rameswaram, Madurai, Allahabad, Varanasi, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Ajmer and Mathura.
This is the 10th pilgrimage train under this scheme. Two more such trains have been scheduled this year.