Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik flags off pilgrimage trip for senior citizens

BHUBANESWAR: A long-pending wish of Ghanshyam Sahu and his wife Saudamini of going on a pilgrimage became a reality on Thursday when they boarded a special train to Ajmer. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the second phase of Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana- a pilgrimage plan for senior citizens here on Thursday in as many as 1024 senior citizens from across the state went to Ajmer and Pushkar in Rajasthan.
“I don’t think anything better could happen to us at this age when state government makes such nice arrangements for our pilgrimage and chief minister himself came to see off. Though we had wished to visit places but due to financial constraints we could not. I thank the state government for this initiative,” said Sahu, a 73-year old resident of Bhubaneswar.
Naveen went inside the train, sat beside the senior citizens and wished them a happy journey. “I was speechless finding him so close. We all thanked him for this,” said Ratikanta Patra, another senior citizen.
Under the scheme, pilgrims within the age group of 60-75 years can avail the benefit. While the pilgrims from below poverty line (BPL) categories can avail 100 per cent concessions under the scheme, non-BPL pilgrims (except income tax payee) in the age group of 60-70 years can avail 50 per cent concessions while those above 70 and up to 75 years can get 70 per cent concessions.
Earlier, the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation signed a MoU with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation to carry out the pilgrimage plan.
“Two more trains will be launched in this phase from Berhampur and Sambalpur. The visitors from Berhampur will go to visit Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) and Vellore (Tamil Nadu) respectively and those who will start journey from Sambalpur would visit Siridi and Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra,” said tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda.