The 89th Utkal Divas (Odisha State Formation Day) was celebrated by Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj — a socio cultural organisation for Odias at its premises in Daspalla Hills, near All India Radio on Monday evening. The programme started with the Odia food festival inaugurated by Samaj president and OSL Group of companies director J.K. Nayak, wherein the ethnic Odia savouries were offered by the members and their families.
Waltair Division of East Coast Railway Additional DRM Manoj Kumar Sahoo was the chief guest of the occassion. Cultural programmes were performed by in-house artists and a troupe from Bhubaneswar, led by eminent author Prakash Mahapatra and poet publisher Saroj Bal. The programme was overseen by general secretary Bumal Kumar Mahanta and anchored by R.P. Sahu and Arun Das.
