The State Capital celebrated its 68th Foundation Day on Wednesday.
A parade was held in front of the State Assembly to mark the occasion with Assembly Speaker Niranjan Pujari taking the salute. A total of 13 persons were awarded with the Rajdhani Gaurav Samman.
Besides, a photography exhibition was also organised at the Jayadev Bhavan. I and PR Commissioner-cum-Secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi inaugurated the exhibition and said the aim of holding such an exhibition was to create awareness among the youths about the culture and history of the city.
I and PR Director Sushil Kumar Das, Rama Shankar Behera, Bipin Bihari Barik, Rabindra Kumar Nayak, Sanat Mishra and Pradyumna Mohanty were present, among others.
Cultural programmes were also held to mark the occasion. First Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation-stone of the city on April 13, 1948.
World-renowned German architect and urban planner Otto Koenigsberger had prepared the city’s first master plan in 1948 for a population of 40,000. In the recent Smart City proposal, Bhubaneswar stood number one among the best cities in India with a score of 78.83 points.