Odisha will feature on 10 postage stamps that will be released by the India Post this year. In a meeting of the Philatelic Advisory Committee held last year, 243 proposals for issuing commemorative postage stamps were received out of which 45 were approved. These include stamps on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sucheta Kripalani, Dada Vaswani, Gen Thimayya, Minoo Masani among others.
Odisha personalities and themes have been approved for ten stamps which include Akshaya Mohanty, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pandit Nilakantha Das and Parbati Ghose. Besides, a stamp on the Eram Martyrs and a five-set stamps on Sambalpuri Bandha, Sambalpuri Folk Dance, Sital Sasthi Jatra, Nuakhai and Dhanu Jatra Mahostav too will be issued.
Never before had Odisha featured on so many stamps. According to Kashinath Sahoo, a philatelist of the State, Odisha had always figured the least in the commemorative stamps.
Anil Dhir, another eminent philatelist and an author, said postage stamps showcase the history and culture of a State and that this is a welcome move by the India Post. Odisha has a vast repertoire of personalities, places, natural heritage, flora and fauna, historical events, etc., which should find a place in stamp issues.
Dhir said Odisha is now the philatelic capital of the country with some best philatelists who have won awards both at the national and international levels. He reiterated that philately should be made a co-curricular subject in schools. There are ten independent stamp clubs and societies in the State founded by eminent philatelists like the late Major Mohanty, late Bijayshree Routray and Sahadev Sahoo.