ROURKELA: Rourkela city joined the rest of Odisha in celebrating Utkal Dibas on Saturday. National Institute of Technology - Rourkela (NIT-R) along with Odia Sahitya Samaj Club organised a slew of activities to mark the day. NIT-R director Prof.K Umamaheshwar Rao inaugurated the G 20 ‘Jan Bhagidari’ event at the institute to create awareness and ensure public participation in India’s G 20 Presidency.
Project director of Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Odia Language, Prof Basanta Kumar Panda said, “Utkal is our esteemed identity. Today, Odia is the only Indo-Aryan language to have the status of a classical language and I feel proud to have been a part of the movement to get the status. I urge the audience to read the works of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, so that we feel the pride of being the sons and daughters of the holy land of Lord Jagannath.
Prof Rao recalled the sacrifices made by Odias in the freedom movement and exhorted the NIT-R community and youths of Odisha to address the societal problems with innovative solutions. While speaking about the importance of India’s G 20 Presidency for 2023 he also exhorted them to focus on incubation and innovation to create jobs and wealth to boost the regional economy and raise the social standard.
Rourkela Steel Plant of SAIL also celebrated the occasion with its director-in-charge Atanu Bhowmick leading senior RSP officials to pay homage at the statutes of the great sons of the soil. Sarba Samanwaya Sangha, a social outfit, also held a function to mark the occasion.