Spoiler COVID: No Official Function To Celebrate Utkal Divas

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided not to organise any official function to celebrate Utkal Divas on Wednesday in view of the corona virus pandemic, official sources said. Odisha would turn 84 on Wednesday.

“There will celebrations for Utkal Divas as the State and the country is in lockdown battling COVID-19,” a senior officer said.

Sources said the government decision stemmed from the official instruction not to allow people to congregate for any function. Besides, the state cannot be organizing official functions at this juncture when spread of the deadly coronavirus has posed grave challenges.

Every year, the government organizes a state-level function here on the occasion of Utkal Divas. Several organizations throughout the state also celebrate the formation day of the modern state of Odisha with pomp and show. Odisha got statehood on April 1, 1936, being the first to get such status based on linguistic considerations.