The 78th death anniversary of freedom fighter Boga Pujari, the first martyr of Nabarangpur district, was observed at village Bodobhorondi under Umarkote block on Tuesday with Minister of Handicrafts Padmini Diyal as chief guest.
Former Minister and the martyr’s granddaughter Parama Pujari remembered the days the martyr had spent at Wardha with Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1941. After coming from Wardha, Boga Pujari visited village to village barefoot crossing the hills and terrains of Nabarangpur district spreading the messages of Mahatma Gandhi in the time of Noncooperation Movement. Day by day thousands and thousands of people of this region participated in this movement under the leadership of Boga.
So, the British Government issued an arrest warrant against Boga, who then went to forests and kept the struggle alive. Later, he was arrested and sent to the Koraput jail, where he was subjected to mental and physical torture and died there in 1942.
Denizens of this district demand naming of the mini stadium situated in Umarkote as Sahid Boga Pujari Stadium.