In a landmark initiative to celebrate Odisha’s rich cultural and historical legacy, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed the Department of Odia Language, Literature & Culture to construct and install new statues of 75 legendary sons of the soil across the districts.
The ambitious project, approved today, carries an estimated budget of ₹14 crore and aims to be completed by the end of next year.
Statues will be strategically placed in public spaces, educational institutions, and historical sites, fostering a deeper sense of pride and identity among Odia people.
Key highlights include:
- Puri: Statues of Bhakta Maneisahu and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- Khurda: Honouring late Vishwanath Das, poets Sachchidananda Routaraya and Kuntala Kumari Sabat, freedom fighters like Veer Surendra Sae, Padma Shri Upendra Maharathi, Veer Sido Murmu and Kahnu Murmu, Ravi Ray, Binayak Acharya, Surendra Mahanti, Radhanath Rath, Lal Bahadur Shastri, late Hemananda Biswal, Pindiki Bahubalendra, Dharanidhar Nayak, and Lakshmikanta Mahapatra.
- Balasore: Poet laureate Radhanath Ray, Mukunda Prasad Das, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Khudiram Bose.
- Jagatsinghpur: National poet Vir Kishore Das, Sarala Das, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Mahesh Chandra Subahusingh.
- Nayagarh: Utkal Ghanta Jadumani Mahapatra, Pathani Samanta.
- Cuttack: Bhairab Mohanty, Sarala Devi, Rani Sukadevi, poet Chandracharan Kali Charan Pattnayak, Nilamani Vidyaratna, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, Gangadhar Meher.
- Bargarh: Kunja Bihari Das, Gangadhar Meher, Manohar Singh.
- Angul: B.R. Ambedkar, Nabakrishna Choudhury.
- Dhenkanal: Sarangdhar Das, Baji Rout.
- Bhadrak: Revolutionary Chakradhar Behera, martyr Niranjan Behera, Swami Vivekananda, Atal Bihari Vajpayee (in Dhussuri), Banchhanidhi Mohanty, Muralidhar Panda, Laxmikanta Mohapatra, and another of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (in Chandbali).
- Bolangir: Dr Harekrushna Mahatab, Gangadhar Meher.
- Ganjam: Dibakar Pattnayak, Upendra Bhanja, Baldev Rath, Jayamangal Rath, Saint Arakshita Das, Padma Shri Bhagaban Sahu, Harihar Mardraj, Chakara Bishoyi, martyr Bhagat Singh, Shashi Bhushan Rath.
- Sambalpur: Laxmanananda Saraswati, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, Veer Chhabildas Sae, Chandrashekhar Azad.
- Kendrapada: Madhusudan Das.
- Mayurbhanj: Pandit Raghunath Murmu, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- Koraput: Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
- Kalahandi: Rendo Majhi.
- Keonjhar: Ramadevi.
- Sonepur: Bhima Bhoi.
- Rayagada: Martyr Laxmana Naik.
This comprehensive list spans icons from literature, politics, social reform, and tribal movements, reflecting Odisha’s diverse heritage.
