Cuttack: Ahead of his 100th birth anniversary, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday unveiled a 10-foot bronze statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Bellview Square, adjacent to the Odisha Judicial Academy, in Odisha’s Cuttack city.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Cuttack Mayor Subhash Chandra Singh, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous, and Cuttack Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde were present on the occasion.
“It is a matter of great pride and honour for all of us. His role in the development of Odisha and the entire country will be remembered forever. His extraordinary public service commitments will be celebrated tomorrow as well to mark his 100th birth anniversary, which is also observed as Good Governance Day,” the CM said.
The 10-foot bronze statue, weighing 10 quintals, has been installed on an 8-foot-high lotus-shaped pedestal. It has been crafted under the supervision of artist Sanjib Biswal and prominent sculptor Laxmidhar Rana.
The Cuttack collector shared that former BJP MLA Samir Dey had initially proposed the idea of installing a statue of Vajpayee here.
The CM later unveiled the statue of eminent scholar Bagmi Biswanath Kar installed on the Assembly premises in Bhubaneswar as part of the state’s initiative to honour 21 renowned personalities in 2024.
“I paid tribute to the great social reformer Bagmi Biswanath Kar by unveiling his statue at the Assembly premises,” Majhi posted on X.
Besides Dharmendra Pradhan and Suryabanshi Suraj, Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy attended this simple function.
