The Gandhi Jayanti and Shastri Jayanti were celebrated here with much fanfare on October 2.
On the occasion, a number of social and voluntary organisations, political outfits, cultural and human right bodies such as Manav Adhikar Suraksha Manch (MASM), Janahitakar Party of Odisha, Mahan Sangh, Antar Jatiya Odia Swabhiman Prateesthan, Milita Odisha Nisha Nivaran Abhijan and Universal Friends Club etc celebrated the day near the Gandhi Statue at Gandhinagar square. Hundreds of social workers, senior citizens, scribes, political dignitaries, youths, and freedom fighters paid floral tributes to the great leaders.
Presiding over a meeting, MASM coordinator Abani Kumar Gaya said that on the pretext of generating revenue, the State Government was not implementing a law for total prohibition of liquor, which was a dream of Gandhiji. This is a preplanned conspiracy of the State Government to destabilise the State and ruin the society, he said, and demanded immediate implementation of the Total Prohibition of liquor Act, 1956 which was implemented by great social leader and late Chief Minister Nabakrushna Choudhury. The main focus of the celebration was on a campaign against liquor and drugs and cleanliness of the city.
BJP leader and former Deputy Speaker of State Assembly Rama Chandra Panda described Mahatma Gandhi as a man with simple tastes and high moral values who had always emphasised on complete prohibition of liquor to establish peace and harmony in the society. It would be a great tribute to Gandhiji, if the Government implements the law for total prohibition of consumption and sale of liquor, he said. He also launched a signature campaign on a memorandum to be submitted to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister for total prohibition of liquor in the country.
Among others who participated included Shyamsundar Khadanga, Bijay Kumar Behera, Dr Sagar Ranjan Tripathy, Maguni Nahak, Surya Mahankud, Rabinarayan Behera, Aditya Prasad Nayak, Prof Ranganath Mishra, scribe Prasant Kumar Das, Bhisma Choudhury, advocate and trade union leader Sudhansu Sekhar Panda, Krushna Charan Panigrahi, Sushant Sabat, Janahitkari Party president Deenabandhu Maharana, general secretary Subash Chandra Rout, Yakub Md Sharif, advocate Aditya Nayak, Rabi Narayan Behera, Ganjam Bar Association vice president Siba Prasad Mishra, Bhukanta Sahu, BMC Commissioner Anjana Panda, BMC engineer Ashima Mishra, Subash Chandra Rout, Paramananda Kothia, KC Das, Dr Sankarsan Patra, Mahan Sangh president Sushant Sabat and Harihar Mallan.
Meanwhile, the Swachha Bharat campaign had a lukewarm response here. Both the sides of the drain of Gandhinagar 3rd lane Extension, Gandhinagr Post Office road, Gate Bazar, Dharmanagar road, Big Bazar, Kamapalli fish market, Giri Market, Khallasi Street and several such areas of the city were full of garbage, while many drains continued to remain as dumping yards.