Residents of Jagatsinghpur district rejoiced as son of the soil Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty has been designated to become next Vice-Chief of the Indian Army. Mohanty visited his native village Jaibada on the outskirts of Jagatsinghpur and visited the Sarala Temple Jhankada under Tirtol block on Thursday.
Lt Gen Mohanty first reached the Sarala Temple in the wee hours and performed Puja and had Darshan of the deity. Hundreds of locals congregated around the temple to have a glimpse of Mohanty and greet him. Then, Mohanty reached at his native Jaibada village, where he had begun his early schooling. Hundreds of villagers and many dignitaries converged at his ancestral residence to greet him. Mohanty met his kith and kin, a few neighbouring villagers including childhood friends and chatted with them remembering his fond memories.
He was saddened while recalling memories of his late mother Dr Sarada Kumari Mohanty and said his mother would have been most happy today after knowing his elevation to the second highest Army post.
Local MLA Prasanta Muduli, Collector SK Mohapatra, State Cashew Development Corporation Chairman Amarendra Das, District Congress president Natabar Barik, senior lawyer Rabindra Nath Mohanty, Sivaprasad Acharya, Dipti Das and Madhusudan Sahoo, among others, were present.