BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has requested the State Government to provide 50 acres of land in the foothills of Barunei in Khurda district for construction of a memorial in commemoration of Paika Rebellion. “Paika Rebellion of Khurda in Odisha is an event of great historical importance to the State. It is therefore proposed to create a permanent infrastructure in the form of an memorial in the State,” Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma said in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He requested the Chief Minister to identify 50 acres of lans either at Khorda or in the foothills of Barunei mountain for the proposed memorial.
In a separate letter to Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University SM Patnaik, the Union Minister requested the former to submit a proposal for setting up a chair in memory of Paika Bidroh. The expenditure for the proposed Chair will be met out of the interest earned on the corpus fund released by the Centre for the purpose, he said.Earlier, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan had requested the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to set up a memorial at Barunei Fort in commemoration of Paika Rebellion.