Bhubaneswar: Utkal Dibasa, the foundation day of Odisha, was celebrated with patriotic fervour and enthusiasm in city on Sunday.
Members of Bhasa Andolan garlanded the statue of Utkal Gouraba Madhusudan Das inside the premises of Odisha Assembly and recalled the contributions of the great leaders, who had played a pivotal role in formation of separate Odisha province.
People from different walks of life, including political leaders and intellectuals, also paid floral tributes to the statue of Madhu Babu at Raj Bhawan Square.
The state level celebration of Utkal Dibasa will be held at Utkal Mandap. The event will be graced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other dignitaries including Odisha Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat, tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda and health minister Pratap Jena.
Meanwhile, the Kalinga Association for Protection of Culture and Heritage (KAPOCH) is going to celebrate Utkal Dibasa by organising a grand event at Baramunda Ground here. The event is scheduled to be inaugurated by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Performances by Bollywood singer Kailash Kher will be major centre of attraction during the event.
Odisha was carved out of combined West Bengal-Bihar-Orissa province on April 1, 1936.
On November 9, 2010, Parliament of India renamed Orissa as Odisha and Oriya language as Odia.
