Bhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, Pravati Parida on Sunday virtually flagged off the first pilgrimage under the ‘Shree Jagannath Darshan Yojana’ for the financial year 2025-26.
The initiative, which is being implemented by Odisha government’s Tourism Department and the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), will see 910 senior citizens from Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts visit Puri for darshan of Lord Jagannath at Srikshetra to start with.
Deputy CM Parida said one of the key priorities of the state government was to facilitate the spiritual aspiration of every Odia to have darshan of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath. She said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the initiative has created an opportunity for senior citizens from across the state to visit Srikshetra and seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu.
Arrangements have been made for 10,434 pilgrims from 13 districts to visit Puri between September 20 and October 26, under the first phase of the scheme.
The first pilgrimage commenced on Sunday, with 490 senior citizens from Malkangiri, 210 from Koraput and 210 from Nabarangpur visiting Puri.
Three escort officers and one paramedical staff member have been deployed in each bus to ensure the safety and well-being of the pilgrims.
Pilgrims will be provided transportation from their respective gram panchayats to the district headquarters, and from there to Puri in dedicated buses. Included in the package are free health check-ups, four vegetarian meals a day, kit bags, identity cards and cultural programmes, besides arrangements for darshan at the Shree Jagannath Temple.