Bhubaneswar, Oct. 15: Malati Dei, 78, a regular visitor to Puri during the holy month of Kartik, is happy that the government has provided her free accommodation and food during her month-long stay.

This year, the government has decided to provide health care, safe drinking water and other facilities to nearly 2,000 elderly women - mostly the destitute and widows - in Puri so that they may perform their month-long rituals at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme called Habishiali through video-conferencing from the state secretariat today. Launching the scheme, Naveen said: "From next year onwards, more women will be brought under the scheme."

During the month of Kartik, elderly women observe a fast every day and perform certain rituals.

The government had made lodging arrangements at Bagala Dharamsala, Mochi Sahi, Kalayan Mandap and Narendra Kona in Puri town. At all these shelters, women home guards will be deployed round the clock to provide security to the women. CCTV cameras have been installed at the temporary shelters to keep tabs on the movement of the elderly women so that no untoward incident takes place.

While chief minister inaugurated the scheme from here, all the BJD MLAs from Puri district, including minister Sanjay Das Burma, were present at Bagala Dharmasala along with a number of elderly women.