'You can donate eyes, not vision’: Nitin Gadkari lauds Harekrushna Mahtab’s foresight at Ravenshaw University

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, who arrived in Odisha on Thursday, graced the Mahtab Jayanti organised at the premier Ravenshaw University on the auspicious occasion of ‘Utkal Keshari’ Harekrushna Mahtab’s 125th birth anniversary.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi, Cuttack MLA Bhartruhari Mahtab, and many other personalities also graced the occasion.

Beginning his speech with ‘Jai Jagannath’, Gadkari remembered Mahtab ji and said, “I feel elated to have finally got a chance to come to the land of Lord Jagannath after so many years. Before I speak about Harekrushna Mahtab, we all should know that he played a pivotal role in Odisha’s formation.”

“It is rightly said, ‘you can donate eyes, but you cannot donate vision. Mahtab ji had a vision for Odisha. Most importantly, his vision of constructing the Hirakud Dam in itself created history and will remain forever. He was also a great writer, scholar, and poet, and majorly focused on social equality. To end societal inequality, he focused on Odisha’s education system,” remembered Gadkari.

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“Mahtab ji was lodged in a jail in Maharashtra during the freedom struggle, where he wrote a book ‘History of Odisha’. So, we should all come together to uplift Odisha and fulfill the dreams of Mahtab ji. It is not important how long we live, the things that we do during our life journey are important. This was the philosophy of Mahtab ji,” Gadkari stated.

He inspired Odia youths to strive to become like Mahtab ji and said, “We need to understand the spirit of Education. We all should strive to be our best and create history. On his 125th birth anniversary, I reaffirm to our youths that we have the strength to become the Vishwaguru. Today, our country is heading towards ‘Vikas’ and ‘Development’.”

“It is very crucial for all of us to think and focus on what Odisha will look like in the future. Generations will come and go, but our state should be our first priority,” he added.