Bhubaneswar: Senior citizens boarded a special train today from Berhampur to Velankanni, Nagapattinam and Thanjavur in Tamil under Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the pilgrimage scheme through video conferencing, in the presence of Tourism & Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda at the Secretariat today. He also wished the passengers a happy and safe journey, on this occasion.

Senior citizens embarked on the journey on a special train, which is the tenth pilgrimage train of this scheme from Berhampur railway station in the presence of MLA Dr. Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik.

The pilgrims expressed their gratitude to Patnaik for fulfilling their wish of visiting holy places.

Notably, under Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana, which was launched by the Odisha government in July 2016, about 10,000 senior citizens have so far travelled in 10 special trains from Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Balasore and Titlagarh in Odisha to Rameswaram, Madurai, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Rishikesh, Haridwarm Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Vellore, Shirdi, Nasik, Trimbakeshwar, Agra, Mathura and Fatehpur Sikri.