Finally, a statue of late former Chief Minister Nilamani Routray was unveiled at AG Square here on his birth anniversary on Wednesday.
It may be noted that the Utkal Sammilani had in 2007 applied to the Culture Department for establishment of a statue of its first president Sriramchandra Bhanjdeb at its office near Power House Square. But the department then decided to put up a statue of Nilamani Routray at the selected place.
But Utkal Sammilani opposed it and installed a statue of Bhanjdeb at that place on April 21, 2017. Two days later on April 23, 2017, Bhubaneswar block JE came and attempted to dislodge the Bhanjdeb’s statue. As Utkal Sammilani Branch president Dillip Dashsharma and others opposed the move, the BDO filed a police complaint against them. But later, due to intervention of the Chief Minister, Bhanjdeb’s statue stood there. On December 17, 2009, a full-size statue of Bhanjdev was installed there.
Finally on Wednesday, the statue of Nilamani Routray was installed.