Bhubaneswar: The first pilgrimage of the 2026-27 financial year under the Shri Jagannath Darshan Yojana began on Sunday, with 910 senior pilgrims from Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts embarking on a journey to Puri Dham.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, Pravati Parida, virtually flagged off the pilgrims’ journey. The State Tourism Department and the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) are jointly implementing the scheme.
Addressing the inaugural event, Parida said the government’s primary goal is to fulfil every Odia’s spiritual aspiration to have darshan of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath. She said the opportunity for senior citizens to visit Shree Kshetra has been made possible through the efforts of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
The pilgrims will stay at Brundabati Niwas in Puri, where arrangements have been made for their safe travel, health check-ups, Mahaprasad and special darshan.
In the first phase of the scheme this year, arrangements have been made for 10,434 pilgrims from 13 districts to visit Puri between September 20 and October 17.
The first journey comprised 910 pilgrims, including 490 from Malkangiri, 210 from Koraput and 210 from Nabarangpur. Each bus carries 35 pilgrims, along with three escort officials and one paramedical staff member to look after their comfort and health.
The Shri Jagannath Darshan Yojana aims to enable one lakh senior citizens to have darshan at the Shree Mandir. This year, arrangements are being made for 30,000 eligible beneficiaries.
Under the scheme, pilgrims travel by special buses from their panchayats to the district headquarters or sub-division and then onward to Puri. The pilgrimage includes free health check-ups, four vegetarian meals daily, a special kit bag and Mahaprasad, along with cultural programmes at Brundabati Niwas.
The virtual event was attended by Tourism Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Balwant Singh, Tourism Department Director Dipankar Mahapatra, Additional Secretary Rudra Prasanna Sahu and OSRTC General Manager Debabrata Mallick.
Malkangiri MLA Narasinga Madkami, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khila and Koraput MLA Raghuram Machha also attended the event virtually, along with district collectors, administrative officers, OSRTC and Tourism Department staff, and pilgrims from the concerned districts.
