SOA celebrates Utkal Divas

Bhubaneswar: The 89th Utkal Divas, commemorating the creation of a separate Odisha State on linguistic basis on April 1, 1936, was observed at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) on Monday.

Vice Chancellor Pradipta Kumar Nanda, deans of different institutes, faculty, senior officials and staff members paid floral tributes to Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das,

Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo, Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Senapati, poet Gangadhar Meher and Harekrushna Mahtab, who were the architects of Odisha becoming a separate State.

Prof Nanda said it was the responsibility of all to strive to make Odisha a developed State by 2036. He said scores of Odias had made huge contributions in various fields, including art and culture,

literature, science and technology, industry, education and sport over the decades.

It was decided that Odia essay and debate competitions would be held prior to ‘Utkal Divas’ from next year to make the language popular among the students of the university.