Bhubaneswar: The 76th State Level Republic Day was celebrated today with great zeal and fervor at Mahatma Gandhi Marg in the capital city of Bhubaneswar.
Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati graced the event as the chief guest, unfurled the national flag and took salute of the parade.
As the Governor reached Mahatma Gandhi Marg at 8.28 am he was given a grand welcome and greeted to the stage by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, ACS, Home, Satyabrata Sahu; DG Police, Y B Khurania and DDG, NCC, Commodore Mahesh Rahangdale.
Governor Dr. Kambhampati hoisted the national flag at 8.30 am. Parade commander Shri Shubham Bhosale, Deputy Commandant Kaushik Kumar Nayak and Special Officer Bhavani Prasad Jena took the lead of the colourful marching contingents.
After the National Anthem was played by the State Police Band, a total number of 43 troupes comprising of contingents from armed services, Police ,NCC and various educational institutions participated in the parade.
Cultural troupes from Sangeet Kala Sansad,Choudwar: Maa Santoshi Kala Pratisthan,Rayagada; Adima Sanskruti Sangathan, Keonjhar and Rangapharua Sangathan, Sambalpur added vibrance to the magnificent event.
The tableaus rolling on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg carried this year a pertinent theme ‘Samruddha Odisha: Aitihya o Bikash’ . The departments displaying their achievements on the tableaus based on the core theme included Women and Child Development (Subhadra), Health and Family Welfare Department (Ayushman Aarogya Mandir), School and Mass Education Department (Vidyabanta Vidyarthi, Viksit Odisha), Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department (Geographical Index Certified Products).
Mission Shakti Department (Women Empowerment through Entrepreneurship), Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Department (Samruddha Krushak Yojana), Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department (People’s Welfare Programmes in Rural Development), Housing and Urban Development Department (Improved Urban Transport System), Skill Development and Technical Education Department (Transparency in Skill Development), Tourism Department (Heritage and Eco-Tourism), Commerce and Transport Department (Multimodal Connectivity-Transformational Journey) and Fisheries ARD Department (From Ocean to Table.. Journey of Odisha Shrimp) .
Additional Chief Secretaries Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Surendra Kumar and Hemanta Kumar Sharma, Principal Secretary of I&PR Sanjay Kumar Singh Secretaries of various departments, Senior Police Officers joined the program.
Director I&PR Saroj Kumar Samal, Director (Technical) Surendra Nath Parida and other senior officers were present at the Republic Day ceremony.
Sucheta Priyadarshini, Deputy Director, I≺ Information Officer, Rojalin Sahoo and Binayak Mishra presented live commentary on the state-level parade