The 96th birth anniversary celebration of former Chief Minister late Binayak Acharya was held at the Ganjam Kala Parishad here on Friday. The meeting was presided over by senior advocate and BJP leader Sisir Kumar Padhi while former president of Utkal Sammilani Basanta Kumar Panigrahi was the chief speaker.
Congress leader and former Minister Ramakrushna Patnaik joined the celebration as the chief guest while well-known historian and former Professor of History of Berhampur University Prof Krushna Chandra Jena; educationists Debaraj Sahu and Sarat Chandra Sahu and advocate Sibaprasad Mishra were the guests of honour. Aswini Mohapatra recited the opening song and Arun Kumar Acharya, son of Binayak Acharya, welcomed the guests.
All the leaders described Binayak Achary as a social reformer, a sincere teacher and an honest politician who believed in moral values. Two eminent educationists of Ganjam district, Prof KM Pathi and Prof KC Jena, were felicitated on the occasion. Meritorious students of different schools were given prizes for their achievements in different fields. Among others, Pandit Raghunath Tripathy, local MlA RC Chyau Pattnaik and a galaxy of social workers and intellectuals participated in the celebration.