Nabarangpur,Sept 22 [UDN}: 2026: The journey of 210 pilgrims from Nabarangpur district to the holy city of Puri under the Sri Jagannath Darshan Yojana was formally flagged off on Sunday, as part of the state-level launch of the pilgrimage programme for the financial year 2026-27.
The initiative, implemented by the Odisha Government, aims to fulfil the spiritual aspirations of senior citizens and ensure that financial constraints, age or distance do not prevent eligible devotees from visiting Lord Jagannath at Srimandir in Puri.
As part of the 2026-27 programme, a total of 900 economically disadvantaged senior citizens aged between 60 and 75 years, along with eligible widowed devotees below 75 years of age from Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Koraput districts, are being facilitated to undertake the pilgrimage to Srikshetra. The state-level launch of the pilgrimage was conducted virtually by Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida.
In Nabarangpur, the district-level programme was organised at the Mission Shakti conference hall in the district headquarters. Nabarangpur MLA and District Planning Board Chairman Gouri Shankar Majhi attended the event as the chief guest.
District Collector Dr Maheswar Swain, Additional Collectors Pramod Kumar Prusty and Biswajit Barman, Zilla Parishad Chief Development Officer B.N. Darwan, and Sub-Collector Prakash Kumar Mishra were among the other dignitaries present at the programme.
The dignitaries flagged off the buses carrying the pilgrims and extended their best wishes for a comfortable and safe journey.
During the virtual interaction with Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, pilgrim Doli Choudhury, from Ward No. 1 of Nabarangpur Municipality, and Simanchal Paik of Digi village under Tentulikhunti block, shared their experiences and expressed gratitude to the Odisha Government and Chief Minister for facilitating the pilgrimage.
A total of 210 pilgrims from Nandahandi, Tentulikhunti and Nabarangpur blocks have embarked on the journey to Puri in six buses under the programme organised by the Tourism Department.
For the safety, convenience and assistance of the pilgrims, the district administration has deployed 18 escort officers to accompany them during the journey.
The pilgrims are scheduled to reach Puri on Monday, where they will have the opportunity to have darshan of Lord Shri Jagannath and partake of Mahaprasad. Arrangements have also been made for their safe return to their respective homes after completion of the pilgrimage.
Before departure, all participating pilgrims underwent health check-ups as part of the safety arrangements. The overall arrangements for the programme and the pilgrimage were coordinated under the leadership of Tourism Officer Jagadish Ray.
District Information and Public Relations Officer Prahlad Khosla coordinated the programme.
The Sri Jagannath Darshan Yojana is intended to provide eligible senior citizens and widowed devotees with an opportunity to undertake the pilgrimage to Puri with organised travel and necessary support from the government and district administration.
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