Seven Times Odisha CM Skipped His Birthday Celebrations; Know When & Why

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who turns 74 on Friday, will not celebrate his birthday in view of the ongoing pandemic, his office said on Thursday.

“People have been facing lots of hardship due to COVID-19 for the past eight months. Instead of visiting Naveen Niwas (the CM’s residence), the CM has appealed his well-wishers to help the poor, donate blood and plasma,” a statement issued by the CM’s office said.

It was in 2011 that Naveen first decided against celebrating his birthday in honour of the flood victims.

Two years later (2013), the state was struck by Cyclone Phailin in which 23 people were killed and about 9 million residents affected. More than 1 million people were evacuated ahead of its landfall to avoid a repeat of 1999 cyclone, which saw 10,000 deaths. Choosing not to celebrate his birthday, Naveen held rehabilitation and relief meetings with senior officials with a focus on restoring electricity in the worst-affected Ganjam district.

In 2014, the Chief Minister did not celebrate his birthday in view of the devastation caused by cyclone Hudhud which left three persons dead and hundreds homeless in the state.

As a mark of respect to the jawans, who laid down their lives fighting against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, Naveen decided against any kind of celebrations in 2016.

In 2018, he did not celebrate his birthday in view of the large-scale damage and human suffering caused due to cyclone Titli and subsequent floods in several districts.

The loss inflicted by cyclone Fani that struck Odisha coast near Puri on May 3, 2019, again saw him give his birthday celebrations a skip in 2019.

Naveen was born on October 16, 1946, in Cuttack. He became the Chief Minister in 2000 when the state was still recovering from the devastation caused by the 1999 Super Cyclone. He has led the BJD to five consecutive victories in 2000, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections.