Bhubaneswar: The first pilgrimage under the ‘Shree Jagannath Darshan Yojana’ for the financial year 2025-26 was virtually flagged off on Sunday by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, Pravati Parida.
The initiative is being implemented jointly by the Tourism Department, Government of Odisha, and the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC).
Parida virtually flagged off the pilgrimage of 910 senior citizens from Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts to Puri, enabling them to have darshan of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath at Srikshetra.
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Chief Minister said that facilitating the spiritual aspiration of every Odia to have darshan of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath remains one of the key priorities of the Government. She said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the initiative has created a sacred opportunity for senior citizens from across the State to visit Srikshetra and seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu.
Under the first phase of the scheme, arrangements have been made for 10,434 pilgrims from 13 districts to visit Puri between September 20 and October 26, 2026. In the first pilgrimage commencing today, 910 pilgrims are participating, including 490 from Malkangiri, 210 from Koraput and 210 from Nabarangpur.
To ensure the safety and well-being of the pilgrims, three escort officers and one paramedical staff member have been deployed in each bus. They will accompany the pilgrims throughout the journey and monitor their health and other requirements.
The ‘Shree Jagannath Darshan Yojana’ aims to facilitate darshan of the Holy Trinity at the Shree Jagannath Temple for one lakh senior citizens, while arrangements are being made for 30,000 eligible beneficiaries during the current year.
Under the scheme, pilgrims are provided transportation from their respective gram panchayats to the district headquarters and thereafter to Puri in dedicated buses. The package includes 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.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism Department, Balwant Singh; Director, Tourism, Dipankar Mahapatra; Additional Secretary, Tourism Department, Rudra Prasanna Sahu; and General Manager, OSRTC, Debabrata Mallik were present at the programme.
Malkangiri MLA Narasinga Madkami, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khilla and Koraput MLA Raghuram Machha, along with Collectors and administrative officials of the concerned districts, officials and staff of OSRTC and the Tourism Department, and the participating pilgrims, joined the programme virtually.
