BJD leaders from Ganjam help Surat get ready for Mahotsav

BERHAMPUR: Senior BJD leaders from Ganjam district are doing everything possible to make the Odisha Mahotsav, a cultural show to be held in Surat, a success. Some of the leaders have been camping in the Gujarat city for days to assist the organisers get ready for the event. On Monday, chief minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to meet the Odias during the one-day event where several filmstars, singers and musicians from Odisha will perform.Around eight lakh Odias, most of them from Ganjam district, have made Surat their home.
"We are far away from the state. The people here don't get to see much of Odia culture and so we decided to organize a cultural programme and invited the chief minister. We thank the chief minister for accepting our invitation," said Bijay Kumar Kanhar, president of Prabashi Odia Samaj (POS), the event organisers.
Former minister and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, who is now in Surat, said they have been helping overseeing the arrangements while most of the work is being done by Prabashi Odia Samaj.
Besides Naveen, at least four of his ministers, three MPs, including Sidhant Mohapatra and Anubhab Mohanty, and at least 10 legislators, most of them from Ganjam district, will be attending the event.
On Saturday, Naveen reiterated his demand for introduction of daily trains between Berhampur and Surat and direct flights between Bhubaneswar and the Gujarat city.
The chief minister attending the event is significant given that most of the people living in Surat are known to return home during election time and with the state going to polls next year, the stakes are even higher. In October, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended a cultural programme organized by Odia people in Surat.