Odisha’s 775 Senior Citizens Set Out for Ayodhya, Varanasi Pilgrimage

Bhubaneswar: For 775 senior citizens from six districts of Odisha, a spiritual journey to Varanasi and Ayodhya began on Wednesday as the first pilgrimage train of the financial year 2026–27 rolled out from Bhubaneswar New Railway Station at Patia.

Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, Pravati Parida flagged off the special train at 11 am under the Mukhyamantri Baristha Nagarik Teertha Yatra Yojana.

Wishing the pilgrims a safe and fulfilling journey, Parida said the pilgrimage would offer them an opportunity to visit some of the country’s most revered spiritual destinations. From the sacred land of Lord Lingaraj, the pilgrims will travel to Kashi Vishwanath and Ayodhya, where they will have the opportunity to witness the Ganga Aarti and seek blessings at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and experience the spiritual ambience associated with Shri Ram Lalla.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the initiative is aimed at enabling senior citizens from different parts of Odisha to visit important pilgrimage destinations while gaining a deeper understanding of the country’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

The first phase includes beneficiaries from Khordha, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Dhenkanal. Cuttack has the highest participation with 197 pilgrims, followed by Khordha with 169, Puri with 127, Kendrapara with 108, Jagatsinghpur with 85 and Dhenkanal with 89.

Among the 775 pilgrims, 432 are men and 333 are women. To ensure their safety, comfort and well-being throughout the journey, 25 escort officers have also accompanied the group.

On the occasion, Industries, Skill Development & Technical Education Minister Sampad Chandra Swain and Kendrapara MLA Ganeshwar Behera extended their greetings to the pilgrims and wished them a safe and successful journey. Railway tickets and kit bags were also distributed to the beneficiaries.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism Department, Balwant Singh; Khordha Collector Amrit Ruturaj; Additional DRM, Khurda Road Division, Pradip Kumar Behera; Regional Manager, IRCTC, Anuj Dutta; and Director, Tourism Department, Dipankar Mahapatra, among other senior officials, were present during the flag-off ceremony.

The state government plans to facilitate pilgrimage journeys for 8,000 senior citizens in 10 phases during 2026–27 under the scheme. Apart from Varanasi and Ayodhya, the programme will cover other major spiritual destinations including Haridwar, Rishikesh, Rameswaram and Madurai.