Bhubaneswar, April 2: Odia communities across the country and abroad Friday celebrated Utkal Divas to mark the formation of Odisha state on linguistic basis in 1936.
The State was carved out of the combined Bengal-Bihar-Orissa province.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Congress president Prasad Harichandan and other leaders paid tributes at separate functions to those who strove for formation of a separate state on linguistic basis.
Besides, people from different walks of life paid tributes to legendary freedom fighters such as Utkala Gaurav Madhusudan Das, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, Maharaja Ramachandra Bhanjadeo, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Raja Baikunthanath Dey, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gangadhar Meher and Gourishankar Ray.
While the state government and different organisations held several programmes, the capital city wore a festive look with colourfully illuminated government buildings and State Assembly.
