Mrunal Manmay Dash

Odisha remembered its legendary and charismatic leader Biju Patnaik on his 25th death anniversary on Sunday. People from all sections of life and political leaders cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to the former Chief Minister of the State.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) also observed the death anniversary of the Statesman and one of the chief architects of the modern Odisha today at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar.

Several programmes were organised across the State, including at the Biju Patnaik Park in Bhubaneswar, to commemorate the day. BMC Mayor Sulochana Das and all the three MLAs of Bhubaneswar among others took part in the special programmes organised at the park.

BJD MLA from Bhubaneswar North, Sushant Rout said, “We organised Tila Tarpan ritual at Bindu Sagar. To commemorate the occasion, ‘Odisha Mo Parivar’ conducted ‘Jeevan Bindu’ programme by organising blood donation camps in all constituencies.”

The ‘Tall Man’, as he was very fondly called, passed away on April 17, 1997 at a hospital in New Delhi, and his mortal remains reached Odisha on the following day.

An ace pilot, Biju Babu’s role in India’s freedom struggle was as adventurous as his exploits in Indonesia. During the Quit India Movement, he had air-dropped leaflets for Indian soldiers fighting against Myanmar as part of the British Indian armed forces. He actively ferried freedom fighters from one place to another during the struggle for independence under dangerous circumstances.

Odisha Television Limited (OTV) was launched on the day Biju Babu took his last journey to Swargadwar on April 18, 1997. The first live telecast of OTV was the final journey of the tallest ‘Son of the Soil’ to Puri amid the pall of gloom that descended over the State as his mortal remains were consigned to flames at Swargadwar.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to Twitter to offer his obeisance to the great leader. “A humble tribute to Biju Patnaik, the great son of Odisha and the statesman, on his death anniversary. The path he has shown has now made Odisha a leader in various areas of development,” he tweeted.

 

 

The BJP National Vice President Baijayant Panda paid his tributes to the legendary leader. Taking to Twitter, Panda wrote, “I pay my respects to the late statesman, a freedom fighter, an adventurous pilot, a proverbial man and the former Chief Minister of Odisha the late Biju Patnaik. I had the opportunity to get to know him better because of our family closeness with him and he inspired us more than one way.”

 

 

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