Bhubaneswar: Registration for Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana (BNTYY) in Odisha for the current financial year began on Thursday.
Eligible senior citizens can register themselves for the scheme in both online and offline modes between July 17 and August 15. “They can visit dedicated website yatra.odisha.gov.in for online registration or register themselves with the respective block or district administrations,” Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida told a presser on Wednesday.
The Odisha Government launched the scheme in 2016 to facilitate senior citizens residing in every district of our state, to travel to various pilgrim places in the country. It is being implemented in collaboration with the Tourism Department of the state government and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
The state government provides transport facility to the pilgrims from their villages to the respective railway stations and back, while IRCTC arranges for accommodation, transportation and food and beverage during the journey along with travel guard, guide, travel insurance and medical facilities.
Under this scheme, citizens aged 60 to 75 years are selected irrespective of caste and religion on the basis of their address/ age/ identity/ category. MGNREGA Job card/ Antyodaya/ Arnapurna/ Old age pension/ Widow pension/ Ration card under NFSA, in which name and age are clearly mentioned, are accepted as EWS Category proof of financial backwardness. In the case of a senior citizen couple, either one of them must be above 60 years of age. Senior citizens in the age group of 70 and 75 years are allowed to take one person over the age of 18 years with them as an attendant while traveling.
The collectors select the pilgrims as per the quota specified for the district. In case of more applicants, the pilgrims are selected through a lottery. To meet the shortfall a waiting list of 20 per cent pilgrims is prepared. A total of 800 people (775 senior citizen pilgrims and 25 escort officers) travel on each trip.
So far, more than 37,555 senior citizens from various districts have got an opportunity to visit pilgrimage sites like Madurai, Rameswaram, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati Balaji, Vellore, Srikalahasti, Shirdi, Nashik, Trimbakeshwar, Velankanni, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Sukeswara Kali (Kolkata), Kamakhya, Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan in 40 trips. In the financial year 2024-25, 7967 beneficiaries travelled to Sirdi, Nashik, Dakhineswar Kali (Kolkata), Kamakhya, Ayodhya and Varanasi in 10 trips, a government release said.