Bhubaneswar: A special train carrying 775 senior citizens from six districts of Odisha to Varanasi and Ayodhya was flagged off from Bhubaneswar New Railway Station on Wednesday, marking the commencement of the sixth phase of the Mukhyamantri Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana for 2026–27.
Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan flagged off the train organised by the Odisha Tourism Department in collaboration with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The pilgrims, accompanied by 25 officials, are scheduled to return to Odisha on November 2.
Extending his best wishes, Harichandan expressed hope that the pilgrimage from the land of Lord Jagannath and Lord Lingaraj to Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi and Ram Lalla in Ayodhya would be spiritually fulfilling. The itinerary includes witnessing the Ganga Aarti, offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and visiting the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.
He said the state government had made comprehensive arrangements to ensure a safe and comfortable journey for the elderly pilgrims.
The participants include 197 senior citizens from Cuttack, 169 from Khordha, 127 from Puri, 108 from Kendrapara, 89 from Dhenkanal and 85 from Jagatsinghpur. Railway tickets and kit bags were symbolically handed over to the pilgrims at the flag-off ceremony.
Ekamra MLA Babu Singh and Pipili MLA Ashrit Pattanayak were present on the occasion.
Tourism Commissioner-cum-Secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia, Khordha Additional District Magistrate Pratap Chandra Beura, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Khordha Road Division R. Manoj Babu and Tourism Director Dipankar Mahapatra also addressed the gathering.
Under the scheme, around 8,000 senior citizens are scheduled to undertake pilgrimages in 10 phases during 2026–27 to destinations including Ayodhya, Varanasi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Rameswaram and Madurai. Approximately 4,000 senior citizens have visited various pilgrimage destinations under the scheme so far this financial year.
