CM flags off 10th trip of ‘Tirtha Yatra’

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday flagged off the 10th trip of Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana (BNTYY) from Balasore railway station. A total of 970 Senior Citizens from Balasore, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur districts will visit Agra and Mathura.

This is the eighth year of Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana from its inception in 2016-17. The scheme was launched by the State government to enable the poor and deprived senior citizens of the State to realise their lifelong dream of having one pilgrimage to fulfil their spiritual aspirations with the support of the State government. So far, 29 such trips have been organised in collaboration with IRCTC under this Yojana benefiting more than 28,651 Senior Citizens (including Escort Officers) in the age-group of 60 to 75 years of the State. This is the 30th trip and a total of 29,651 pilgrims have availed this scheme as of today.

State Tourism Minister Aswini Patra, Remuna MLA Sudhansu Sekhar Parida, Balasore MLA Swarup Kumar Das, OTDC Chairman Lenin Mohanty, BNTYY advisor Durga Prasad Samantaray and Tourism Department Additional Secretary Balamukunda Bhuyan were among others present on the occasion.