The Kalinga Bharati Foundation (KBF) would organise a charity cultural extravaganza, Shaheedon Ko Salaam or a tribute to the martyrs, at the Rabindra Mandap here on June 17 at 6 pm.
The foundation would felicitate family members of nine Odia martyred jawans besides encouraging them with some financial support. Many important persons have been invited from Odisha and outside to make the event a memorable one.
“This event is a first of its kind not only in providing financial assistance to the martyrs’ families but also to encourage more and more Odia youths to join the Defence forces so as to lend a visible presence of Odias in the noble task of defending the nation,” said foundation principal adviser and NISER Bhubaneswar Registrar Dr Abhaya Kumar Nayak at a news conference here on Tuesday.
Foundation chairman and former I&PR Director Sushil Kumar Das said Minister for Tourism and Culture Ashok Chandra Panda, Union Panchayati Raj Joint Secretary Sanjeeb Pattajoshi, Principal Secretary to State Department of Culture Manoranjan Panigrahi, Commissioner of Police YB Khurania, Angul district Collector Anil Kumar Samal, Nalco CMD Dr Tapan Kumar Chand, MCl CMD AK Jha, Dean and Professor Tapan Kumar Panda of OP Jindal University and Brigadier Narayan Nayak would attend the event. The programme would be followed by lilting melodies with pulsating music to be presented by the Soor Vibration group, Bhubaneswar. Prominent among others present at the Press conference were KBF founder Er Akshya Kumar Samal and vice-chair Ipsita Behura.
Notably, this event, though first of its kind in Odisha, was held before at Gurgaon of Haryana receiving wide acclaim from across the country.