BHUBANESWAR : Around 200 drones will be flown in formation in the city to showcase the rich Odia language, art and culture as part of seven-day-long Ekamra Utsav which kicked off on Saturday.
The drones will hover over Idco exhibition ground and citizens will be able to watch the show on February 7, 8 and 9. Sources said the show will be held at 8 pm on the three days. Ekamra Utsav, organised by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) on the sidelines of Biswa Odia Bhasa Sammilani, will highlight Odia language, art and culture through murals painted on the walls at Madhusudan Marg.
The festival, aimed at preserving and showcasing Odisha’s linguistic heritage, was inaugurated by Housing and Urban Development Minister Usha Devi at Idco exhibition ground in the evening.
Day one of the festival started with the main event ‘Sangitara Murchana’ during which renowned artists and singers like Jyotirmayee, Abhiram, Rajesh Satapathy, Krishna and Mitrabhanu enthralled the audience with their performances.
As part of the event, ‘Ama Byanjan’ (food festival) having 20 stalls is offering traditional dishes of various districts in the state to the visitors. Department of Mission Shakti, Odisha Millet Mission and Koraput Coffee have also set up one stall each. During the festival, citizens can also visit the night flea market at Ekamra Haat having 33 stalls which will remain open between 5 pm and 11 pm till February 9. Ministers Ashok Chandra Panda and Aswini Kumar Patra, MLAs Ananta Narayan Jena and Susant Kumar Rout, BMC mayor Sulochana Das, BDA chairman Balwant Singh, BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange and others were present.