Befitting to tribute to Karmaveer Gouri Shankar Roy on his 179th Birth Anniversary
Bhubaneswar: July 13: A statue has been unveiled today in the State Capital as a befitting tribute to Karmaveer Gouri Shankar Roy on his 179th Birth Anniversary. Installed in PMG square by the department of culture, Govt of Odisha the unveiling of statue was performed in the presence of Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister, Tourism and Culture, Pratap Jena, Minister, Health and Family Welfare, Dr.Prasanna Patsani, MP, Priyadarshi Mishar, MLA, Ananta Narayan Jena, Mayor, BMC. Among others, relatives of Karmaveer Gouri Shankar Roy and senior citizens with admirers of Ray were present.
Department of Culture is making pro-active measures to install the statues of great sons of soils at various places in the state and this is a befitting gesture to honour Karmaveer Gouri Shankar Roy, said Manoranjan Panigrahi, Commissioner-Cum-Secretary, department of Culture.
Karmaveer Gouri Shankar Roy was one of the makers of modern Odisha. Born in Dikhitpada of undivided Cuttack district, Gouri Shankar joined in Balasore Zilla School after completing his education from Kolkata. He involved himself in various organisations such as Utkal Sabha, Odisha Association, Utkal Sammilani, Utkal Sahitya Samaj for furtherance of Odiya Language and literature. He is regarded as a saviour of Odiya Language, culture during a period of turmoil, apprehension and threats to Odiya Language, emerging as a hero of Odiya renaissance. He established Cuttack Printing Company in 1865 to bring out first Odiya Newspaper ‘Utkal Deepika’ which has disseminated information on the problems and hardship of Odiyas’ during famine of 1966. He also started ‘Purana Prakashika Samiti in order to undertake publication of rare palm leaf manuscripts along with Ramayan and Mahabharat.
