A total of 960 people from six districts of Odisha boarded a special train here to visit to Tirupati and Vellore as part of the state government's pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens, an official said.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday flagged off the 'Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana' (BNTYY) train carrying senior citizens to Tirupati and Vellore from Bhubaneswar railway station.

This is the 8th trip of BNTYY pilgrimage train approved during 2023-24. A total of 960 senior citizens from the districts of Khurdha, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur and Dhenkanal were on board the train to visit Tirupati-Vellore, the official said.

The Baristha Nagarika Tirtha Yatra Yojana was launched by the state government to enable the poor and deprived senior citizens for realisation of their lifelong dream of having one Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage) for fulfilment of their spiritual aspirations with the support of the state government.

Official sources said, that so far 27 such trips have been organized in collaboration with IRCTC under this yojana benefiting more than 26,669 senior citizens.