Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday unfurled the national flag at the state level celebration of the 72nd Independence Day at Mahatma Gandhi Marg here.
The Chief Minister took a salute during the parade by 44 troops and 39 contingents.
Extending his greetings to the people of Odisha, the Chief Minister threw light on the initiatives taken by the state government with a priority to farmers, youth and women.
He called upon people from different walks of life to contribute towards making Odisha a powerful state.
On the occasion, the CM launched the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana and said that about 70 lakh families will benefit under the scheme.
Security was beefed up across the state capital for the Independence Day celebration with deployment of as many as 30 platoons of police including 150 senior police personnel.
The government did not allow the participation of children in the parade in view of the heavy rainfall forecast by the regional meteorological centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here.
This year, a police troop from West Bengal also took part in the parade. Similarly, a troop of the Odisha Police was sent to West Bengal to participate in the parade there with an aim to promote inter-state cooperation and fellow feeling.
