Chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday night flagged off a special train for Maltipatpur ( in Puri) from Tatanagar railway station as a part of Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana.
The train carrying 896 senior citizens, both men and women , belonging to the BPl category selected from three districts- East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan- of Kolhan left for its destination
" The special train arrived at the Tatanagar railway station from Ranchi," said O P Sharma, station manager at Tatanagar adding that they have taken all necessary measures including safety and security so that the travellers are not inconvenienced.
The train which will travel via Chakradharpur, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul and Khurdah Road before reaching its destination. At the religious sites in Puri, the devotees will be accompanied by guides and paramedics.
Notably, in September this year the state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for kick-starting the chief
minister's Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana allowing senior citizens belonging to the BPl category to visit religious sites by train at state's
expenses.