Talking to the newsperson, Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda told that the decision has been taken by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat.
Moreover, in the first phase of the tour programme from Berhampur, near about 1000 senior citizens will get the opportunity to visit the tourist destinations in South India.
Similarly, the tour will start from Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur. The destination of the tour from Bhubaneswar will be Banaras and Allahabad and from Sambalpur it will be Haridwar and Rishikesh.
The pilgrimage tour cost will be free for the senior citizens coming under the BPL category while senior citizens under APL category have to pay 50 percent of the travel cost.