Navrangpur, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday launched a scheme to facilitate the poor, widows and elderly to visit the Jagannath temple in Puri at least once in their lifetime.
Majhi launched the scheme to facilitate poor people to visit Puri Jagannath TempleHe said the state government would bear the travel expenses of those persons, which would enhance spiritual and cultural well-being.
“I have launched the Shri Jagannath Darshan Yojana for the people from Navrangpur. The state government considers the people as the center of governance, and therefore, it is our utmost duty to fulfill their hopes and aspirations,” Majhi said.
The Chief Minister said that many times the economically backward and senior citizens are deprived of the darshan of Lord Jagannath due to financial constraints or family problems.
“To fulfill their unfulfilled religious wishes, we have started this innovative scheme, where the government will respectfully take elderly and widowed women like Shravan Kumar to the temple and provide them hassle-free darshan and consumption of Mahaprasad,” Majhi said.
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Sravana Kumar, a character in the Ramayana, took his blind and old parents on a pilgrimage carrying them in two baskets.
Stating that the scheme is set to improve the spiritual and cultural well-being of the weaker sections, the Chief Minister said that as per the provisions of the SJDY, senior citizens aged 60 to 75 years and widows up to 75 years belonging to the economically weaker section, will get the benefit of free travel to Puri, where they will have the opportunity to visit Jagannath.
The scheme will provide ‘mahaprasad’ free of charge, with transport, accommodation, and food expenses covered by the state government.
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More than 500 devotees from different districts will benefit in the first phase of the initiative. The project jointly implemented by the Department of Tourism and Transport was launched simultaneously from Sambalpur, Bhadrak, Berhampur and Baripada.
Majhi said that the state government will arrange travel, accommodation and food for the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries from 21 districts will have a night halt at Puri, while devotees from eight other coastal districts will make a day trip to the temple, an official said.
According to the Department of Tourism, the project aims to benefit 5,000 people in the financial year 2025-26 and 30,000 people in the financial year 2026-27. The scheme will be operational till FY 2028-29. A total of around 1,00,000 beneficiaries will be selected across the state during the scheme period, a government order said.
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