Justice (Retd.) Manoranjan Mohanty, former Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal and senior advocate of the Orissa High Court, has been unanimously appointed as the Chairman of the State-Level Pradyumna Bal Jayanti Committee.
The committee organises the annual birth anniversary celebrations of Pradyumna Bal, a fearless journalist, uncompromising politician, and the Founder Editor of ‘Pragativadi’ Odia daily.
Justice Mohanty officially assumed the role on Monday, taking over from the outgoing chairman, centenarian freedom fighter Padma Charan Nayak. The committee has also named Padma Charan Nayak, former Chief Minister Dr. Giridhar Gamang, Krishna Mohanty, and Harishchandra Nanda Goswami as its advisors. ‘Pragativadi’ Chairperson Saswati Bal remains the chief patron of the committee.
This year, the state-level birth anniversary celebrations will span three days—November 6, 7, and 8—at the ‘Pragativadi’ office premises in Bhubaneswar. Because November 8 coincides with Diwali, formal public meetings and seminars will take place on November 6 and 7, while November 8 will feature a special ‘Deepotsav’ to pay floral and luminous tributes to the late leader.
As part of the commemorative events, the Pradyumna Bal Prativa Vikash competitions—spanning school, college, and university levels—will commence on September 15. These month-long nationwide competitions aim to foster young talent, with the prize distribution ceremony scheduled during the main state-level function on November 7.
During the handover ceremony, outgoing Chairman Padma Charan Nayak urged the committee to continue spreading Pradyumna Bal’s values and ideologies to the masses, specifically praising ‘Pragativadi’s’ recent initiatives against substance abuse.
Upon accepting the chairmanship, Justice Mohanty highlighted Pradyumna Bal’s monumental contributions to Odisha and India. “As a symbol of values in politics, the first Member of Parliament from Jagatsinghpur, and a leader of mass movements, his life remains an unparalleled chapter in political history,” Justice Mohanty stated. He further noted that Bal’s birth anniversary on November 8 is rightfully celebrated as ‘Value-Based Journalism Day’, emphasizing the late editor’s role in making ‘Pragativadi’ the true voice of the common people.
The preparatory meeting was attended by prominent figures including Dr. Biswajit, National Coordinator of Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, and Mihir Pratap Das, President of Odisha Sarvodaya Mandal.
Birupakshya Tripathy, Executive Editor of ‘Pragativadi’ and committee coordinator, introduced the guests, while Lalitendu Patnaik delivered the welcome address.
A full roadmap for the upcoming state-level events will be released shortly.
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